The Greater Hunt for Happiness
by Pikmin-Volt
Summary: The sequel to Blue Happiness (as well as a Friend in the Undead), this reference to the Hunt for Happiness Comic from Club Nintendo picks up where our six heroes (Five Links and Kirby) have turned into Yoshis! They were about to transform back into normal, but a certain trio of baddies won't let that happen! The question is though, is that really a disadvantage?
1. Chapter 1: A Sudden Start

**Hello, viewers! Pikmin-Volt is finally here with the first chapter of the story The Greater Hunt for Happiness! Yes, everyone, the title does in fact reference the first Yoshi's Story comic piece called The Hunt for Happiness, so I decided to make a sort of "sequel" to it. Anyways, when we left off on Blue Happiness and A Friend in the Undead, we saw our Four Sword Heroes ALL become the adorable little dinos that are Yoshis (Oh right! Kirby also joined in on the fun!)! Another thing worth noting is that they met a unique guardian Yoshi from the forest who haunts trespassers! Red and Blue of course were the first to meet him, and before they knew it, the five brothers and he became good friends! This story picks up on the final day of the "Yoshi Effect" for our friends, but will it actually be the final day? Find out now and enjoy! As always, Nintendo owns its respective characters and elements.**

The Greater Hunt for Happiness

Chapter 1: A Sudden Start

There lays an island that reaches far away from the Mushroom Kingdom. This island is home to many creatures and plants, some tame and some hostile. While it does have its tropical areas, it also has its snowy and grassy ones. The inhabitants are of noteworthy variety, ranging from sentient walking flowers to hooded mysterious figures of multiple colors that roam the plains. However, those are not what the island is primarily known for. Yes, this island is known for… another creature… something called… a Yoshi.

They are adorable yet fierce. They are kind-hearted but brave. They come in a variety of not only colors, but patterns as well. These animals are dinosaurs that exhibit a unique cross between anthropomorphic and feral traits. They can be hosting events one moment and then begging for fruit like dogs the next. Many are baffled by this, but most have chosen to ignore the confusion. One thing is for certain though: those that allow themselves to be near these creatures long enough can themselves begin to feel the contagious happiness that permeates from the Yoshis' souls. It has been said to be an effective source of treatment for even the most painful of emotional wounds. People in ample presence of these prehistoric do-gooders claim to have lost all anguish they may have had, with some who have done gone down an evil path earlier now defecting due to the creatures' display of love and kindness. Speaking of, the Yoshis are also theorized to have some sort of "sixth sense" in them, as they can sense the thoughts and feelings of those around them. While not entirely perfect, it does well to guide them out of danger and to the right people. For example, with this sixth sense, they have been able to detect sadness within the hearts of individuals and find a cure! Mind you, the sense itself doesn't help them find the cure. It only determines whether the person needs it or not. This cure comes in the form of an egg or fruit that can-yes-transform a human being into a Yoshi. As Yoshis are creatures of happiness, it would only make sense to become one as a last resort, a conclusion that the Yoshis have come to years ago. While the special fruits last for seven days once consumed (hence, they are only used for those who want an interspecies "vacation" of sorts), the special egg can last for up to a month, but the time can be lessened. How so? It all has to do with how the subject battles their feelings of agony. Should the subject cheer up quickly, or should they not have needed it at all, the maximum time would be around two days. "How do I know of this extraordinary source of therapy?" you may ask. Well… it all began one day during a bout with the legendary Heroes of the Four Sword…

Yes, I am talking about the five heroes who slayed the monstrous Vaati and sealed away Ganon, the King of Darkness. Originally one, they drew a sword that split them into four when left with no other way to combat the rising darkness. They journeyed across the land of Hyrule to grow in power and in friendship with each other before successfully sealing away the darkness… That… is the simple version of how it all went. However, there was much more than that… The reason that they became four without much choice was because of the kidnapping of the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. Her kidnapper was one who went by the name Shadow Link. Born from the dark powers of the Dark Mirror, he was sent on a mission to paint Link's name in a dark light and cause mischief, all as part of a side plot to cloak Hyrule in shadow. It was him who led the other four down to the Chamber of the Four Sword. Naturally, when the heroes first split, Shadow Link did everything he could to defeat them and claim their place as Link, as the other four were not well accustomed to the situation at the time, and as they originated as one person, were basically comparable to bickering brothers. This nearly won the battle for Shadow Link… had it not been for one of the good Links becoming a spy amongst his ranks. Yes, the purple Link had decided to pledge false allegiance to the enemy in order to discover their plans. What he found… was surprising…

Instead of serving Ganon, Shadow Link had wanted to overthrow him and rule alone. He wanted to prove that shadows were not meaningless dark reflections cast by a person in the sunlight. However, he was defeated by the other four, who then proceeded to make their way to the bigger threat. Of course, because he came from the Dark Mirror, he could simply return for more, and return he did. However, with some unlikely help from the princess herself, he discovered that, even as a shadow of the Hero of Hyrule, even he had a kind heart. Upon this discovery, he provided surprising aid to the others in their duel with Vaati, even going as far to sacrifice himself with the Dark Mirror's destruction to ensure victory for the heroes. Feared to be gone for good by the other four, he actually became their living shadow, following Ganon's defeat when the Four Sword was placed back in its pedestal. It did not end there, however. Evil rose again, and not just in Hyrule. For that reason, Link had drawn the sword again, becoming not four, this time, but five. Shadow Link himself was accepted as a part of the blade, and he himself became part of the Brotherhood of the Heroes of Hyrule. They now go by their own colors for their names. They are Green, the motivated one, Red, the childlike one, Blue, the passionate one, Vio, the clever one, and Shadow, the one with a heart of light. They have traveled across the multiverse, and have made numerous friends along the way, like Kirby the Star Warrior, Yoshi the dinosaur himself, and even me, the narrator of this story.

Long description about the heroes aside, the adventure began when Yoshi was trying to come up with a plan to ease Blue's chronic hotheaded attitude. It was only natural that he eventually came up with the plan to transform him into a Yoshi. He of course did not want this, but his brother, Red, did. I was tasked to help create a potion that could transform him, but I botched the process, and as a result, Blue got the same treatment Red did. Obviously, he didn't take it well, and became even more sour that day. The thing we didn't know however, is that he secretly wanted to transform as well. His brothers were the first to learn of this that night after Red had transformed back into normal (having been joyous enough for the transformation to deem itself unnecessary), and when they did learn it, they began helping him find the joy that was trapped inside of him for so long. The next day, he changed from the inside, lending helping hands to those he met, making amends with those he may have hurt in the past, and overall becoming the brother that Red had always wanted. Following a sudden battle with a few of Yoshi's foes, Blue had become so happy that he too had reverted to normal. However, he missed being a Yoshi, and wanted more time as one. Not one to turn down a friend's plea, I decided to secretly feed him and Red a special pie that I had made from the fruit that can transform. Humorously enough though, the other three brothers ate it too, and thus, the Four Sword brothers became five little Yoshis. Adorable as they were now, only Red and Blue were pleased at what had happened. Green, Vio and Shadow were less than amused… It was… a real slap in the face to me… To not mess up only once, but TWICE! How?! Regardless, Red and Blue had run into that special Yoshi mentioned earlier shortly after they became Yoshis again. Apparently, this Yoshi was of an undead variety, and as such, possessed otherworldly powers; powers that saved the duo when they were ambushed by some Shy Guys, the hooded creatures of the island. As said earlier, the unique Yoshi quickly befriended them, and before we all knew it, he had joined the weekly prehistoric vacation as the brothers' tour guide! Kirby himself had even turned into a pink Yoshi to join with his friends, claiming that, "There was NO WAY he was missing out on the fun this time." All in all, it was a very fun time. My sister and I had met up with the heroes too, mostly to make sure that I didn't do anything troublesome again. I still couldn't believe that I made such a blunder… again! At any rate, what were we doing now?

"Hey! Come back here!" a light voice rang out. The owner of said (adorable) voice was a black Yoshi with white shoes and a black and pointy floppy hat. He had a determined look on his face as he ran after something. He was relentlessly chasing it down. He showed no signs in stopping, and even ran in circles as it too went in circles. As the item emerged from the grass for a moment, it was revealed to be a red berry tied to a string.

"Come on! Almost got you!" the Yoshi said with unwavering dedication. As he leapt up and down in unison with the bobbing berry, he eventually pounced the fruit before swallowing it in one gulp.

"Yes!" he cried out triumphantly as he struck a pose. "No match for ME!"

As he turned around, he was met with giggling from a few others. His smile quickly turned into an annoyed look as he realized what had just happened.

"Ugh… Seriously?" he asked with a partially red face. "You guys should be ASHAMED! Making me do that was EMBARRESING!"

"Hey!" another Yoshi spoke up. It was a blue one with scarlet shoes, also with a floppy hat, this one colored blue. "You made ME do that too around a week ago! It's only FAIR!" he teased.

"Yeah," the black Yoshi began. "But at least you actually WANTED to become a Yoshi! I didn't!"

"You admitting it now?" the Blue Yoshi laughed. "You made such a big show that day about how being a Yoshi isn't all that bad but look at you now!"

"Okay…" a purple Yoshi interjected. He had orange shoes and also had a purple floppy hat. "Blue, while that is true, there's the fact that we weren't expecting to suddenly transform out of the blue like that."

"It honestly shouldn't be a problem to suddenly transform into this, Vio," Blue started. "You should be psyched that you're a DINOSAUR of all things now! I mean… think about it!"

"But I'm… adorable…" Vio retorted. "Vio isn't supposed to be the CUDDLY one…" he pouted with a cute voice. Out of nowhere, another tied fruit appeared. It was a batch of grapes on a string this time. Upon seeing it, Vio's pupils dilated and his tail began to wag.

"Except… you know… when there's fruit around… I could make that an exception," he spoke in a trance as his tongue drooped out and he began to pant. As he surrendered himself to chasing the fruit, he let go of any sense of inhibition, focusing on the fruit and ONLY the fruit. Nothing stopped him. He kept at the vitamin-filled delight, going in circles, flutter jumping and even doing a back flip at one point to keep up with it. Like Shadow, he eventually caught the food too, but he also realized that he had been played. His cheeks quickly turned red as well, and he folded his arms at the one who lured him. Said culprit was a humanoid-looking girl who had long pigtails that looked like tentacles. She wore a pink beanie with a star on it and wore a pink jacket to match. She was of a unique species called an Inkling, a squid that could change from a cephalopod to a kid at will and swim in her own ink that she could create with weaponry. They were very cultured in the art of war; their kind having been through a prolonged "Great Turf War" with a similar species called the Octarians. However, this wasn't all they partook in. They also listened to music and socialized, the former a fan favorite practice of theirs. This girl's name was Callie, and she was not only a part of a musical duo called the Squid Sisters, a hit that carried them to new heights in their career, she was also part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, a modern-day version of the Inkling army that took care of the looming Octarian Menace. In particular, she was the first agent of the squad, having been recruited by her own grandfather, Captain Cuttlefish, a former soldier of the Great Turf War.

"What was that you said about not being cute?" she teased. "Last time I checked, you're super ADORABLE!"

"*Sigh*" Vio breathed out. "Well, at least this won't last for much longer…"

"Yeah… as fun as this was," a green Yoshi with a green floppy hat and orange shoes began. "This really isn't what I expected to be for a week…"

"Well, Green…" another girl spoke up. She was also an inkling, though she wore a green shirt along with a green cap. Her hair was white and shorter than Callie's. Her name was Marie, and she was Callie's cousin and the second half of the Squid Sisters. Not only that, but Callie had recruited her to be Agent 2 of the Squidbeak Splatoon. "You can always have more fruit and be a Yoshi for LONGER!" she replied while giggling.

"Eh… no thanks…" Shadow quickly blurted out, already seeing himself as a Yoshi for another seven days. The thought made him shudder.

"I'm good too," Vio chided. Being turned into a chibi dinosaur did not suit him. He just wanted normalcy again.

"Same here," Green chimed in. "Speaking with this squeaky voice has given me red cheeks more times than I can remember!"

"NOT US!" a voice rang out. It belonged to a red Yoshi with dark blue shoes and a red floppy hat. "I think I speak for both Blue and myself when I say that we want to be Yoshis longer! Isn't that right?"

"Without a question!" Blue cheered. "I'm… sad that today's the final day… After a week like this, I don't know how I can go back to being a snooty human again!" he finished as his face looked downtrodden and his tail drooped.

"Oh, Blue…" the red dinosaur hugged him. "Just because it's going to be over soon doesn't mean you have to change who you are! You're my awesome brother who gave me the best week ever!"

"Th-Thanks," Blue sniffled.

"Dawww…" Marie cooed. "You really HAVE changed, Blue! I feel much more comfortable around you now! Here!" she said tossing a batch of blueberries. Blue caught them all with his tongue before the bunch even could fall into his hands. He swallowed it all in one gulp, feeling happier with this snack.

"Thank you so much!" Blue cheered. At that moment, his Yoshi instincts took over, and he went over and nuzzled the green Squid Sister like a cat or a dog would. Marie was taken aback, but she hugged him in return. Callie giggled, happy that Blue had transformed on the inside, and excited that she and everyone else finally got to see his true side.

"Thank you for your love and support, everyone!" Blue mused. "I-I don't even want to THINK what it would have been like otherwise!" Yes, while Blue was doing better than ever thanks to becoming a Yoshi, secretly, he was still haunted by his past, mostly by all the times he would hurt Red. Those times were over, though… That's what he kept fighting for… He wouldn't stop until the last trace of that brute that was once him was gone. He'd do it for his friends and brothers… He'd do it for Red… No one deserved to have their inner child robbed from them, and to repay Red for bringing his back to him, Blue would make sure that none could steal it from his cherished brother.

"Hey! Everyone! We've got snacks!" another voice rang out. It was mine, and I was carrying a tray of food for all of us to eat, though I had to add a lot more to the batch for obvious reasons. "I've got lots of fruits and sweets!" Indeed, there were watermelons, apples, more blueberries, grapes, bananas, candy, and even Yoshi Cookies! Of course, I didn't gather all of it alone. Kaitlin, my sister, had helped as well, and thanks to her, it took significantly less time to prepare the feast.

"Eat up!" Kaitlin called out. As soon as everyone saw the tray, they began rushing towards it, the Yoshified Links running much faster out of motivation.

"Mmmmm!" Red panted. "Thank you SO MUCH for this, Chris!" he said entranced as he eyed the apples.

"Where are the plates?!" Blue asked. "I'm STARVING!"

"Hold on… I've got 'em," I tried to calm the two brothers down. As I reached for the plates, I heard some scarfing behind me. Turning around, I saw Shadow's tongue on some bananas.

"Well, well, well…" I giggled. "Not enjoying being a Yoshi, huh? I sure see otherwise…"

"Hey! I never said I WAS… My appetite's… just uncontrollable…" he fibbed.

"Mm hmm…" I exclaimed.

"Honest!" he blushed. "Do you know how annoying it is to be called cute every five MINUTES?!" he asked me.

"Heh… Well you guys decided to eat the pie! I didn't MAKE you eat it!" I pointed out.

"Yeah…" Vio interjected. "But we didn't know about your surprise gift to Blue and Red either…"

"True…" I admitted. It WAS supposed to be a secret, and I guess that worked… on the wrong guys as well as the ones I wanted it to work on…"

"Either way…" Kaitlin began. "We have some memorable moments at least!" she teased while holding up her phone which had more than twenty pictures of last week's events on it.

"HEY!" Vio shouted with red cheeks. "I thought you said you wouldn't do that!"

At this, Blue, Red, Kaitlin, Callie, Marie and I laughed aloud, when out of the corner of our eyes, we saw someone headed our way.

It was a pink Yoshi with orange shoes and no hat, and apparently, he had sniffed out the meal that we were about to have.

"Hey Kirby!" Red and Blue waved.

"Hi, fellow Yoshis!" the pink dinosaur cheered. "How goes it!"

"It's been so much fun!" Blue spoke. "The Squid Sisters along with Chris and Kaitlin have been playing fetch with us!"

"That sounds like FUN!" Kirby mused. "How was it?! How many fruits did you get?"

"Eh… We didn't really keep track of that… It was too much fun!" Red squealed. "Green, Vio and Shadow even joined us!"

"Really?" Kirby chuckled.

"Uh… not by choice…" Vio pointed out. "Those fruits have more luring powers than you could imagine!"

"Yeah!" Shadow joined in. "None of us could resist!"

"It's true!" Green said. "We were like dogs!"

"That must've looked ADORABLE!" Kirby imagined. "If only I could've seen it too!"

"Oh! You CAN!" Kaitlin revealed as she got her phone out!"

"Whoa! Hey now! Let's not get any rash ideas!" Green panicked.

"Oh, come on!" Kaitlin replied. "You did it to Blue! Just think of this as getting even!" she spoke.

Suddenly, a hilarious argument broke out over the phone, all while those who watched and ate laughed. The week had been nothing but joyous for Red and Blue, and they would not have traded it for anything else. As the bickering died down and everyone began feasting on the treats, I began to recall the events of the past week.

Monday started with the five heroes adapting to their new forms. To no big surprise, Red and Blue were naturals at being Yoshis, fitting right in with the others and even enjoying their new skills. Shadow, while reluctant, joined in as well and looked like he was having a fun time as well (even if he wouldn't admit it). Green eventually partook in the activities as well, though he wore an expression that looked like he was forced to dance in front of a crowd (oh wait…). Vio just watched the entire time until Kaitlin baited him with some fruit, which was a sight to behold.

Tuesday saw our heroes playing tag with the other Yoshis. Red and Blue kept in pace with the others, not wanting or needing a break until THREE AND A HALF hours after the game started. Green, while dropping in and out every now and then, found himself enjoying the fun times, even if he was it more times than he could count. Shadow and Vio wanted to hide from the fun, but Kaitlin and her batch of fruits were there to say otherwise. I even joined, but I must honestly say that if it wasn't for hiding behind Green so many times, _I_ would have been it the most. Those dinos are FAST!

We met up with Kirby on Wednesday. He had his friends in tow, who themselves looked a little shocked from a few days ago still, save Meta Knight. King Dedede kept voicing the fact that Kirby was twice as hungry as usual, having gone through more than two hundred peaches already with showing no signs of cease. Bandana Waddle Dee said that Kirby was even more energetic in this state, so much that he would wake his friends up an hour or two early and wouldn't let them go back to sleep until nightfall, which, for Kirby at this time, meant 11:00. Meta Knight however was completely content with Kirby's new state of mind, glad that his son-figure was having a good time. At any rate, as soon as we met up with each other, we helped out with a fruit harvest that day (though Shadow uncontrollably ate a few findings).

Thursday, we began a two-day tour of Yoshi's Island. Visiting the grasslands and caves was quite an adventure if not a little dangerous; there was a moment where Green sneezed after sniffing a flower and awakened a nearby Chain Chomp. You can guess what we spent the next half-hour doing. After that, we enjoyed getting lost in the maze where we almost got squished by Shy Guys on stilts. Thank goodness our Spooky Yoshi friend had come right then from his forest job to scare them off. He apologized for not staying with us, telling us that he felt that he needed to uphold his position.

On Friday, the Squid Sisters returned from Inkopolis to join the fun. Red and Blue, being as hospitable as ever, allowed rides on their backs, Marie beginning to warm up to Blue from that moment on. There was a time when Blue hurt Callie's feelings a couple of months from the day Blue first transformed, and when she told her cousin about the ordeal, Marie held a bit of a grudge against the blue hero. However, when Blue made amends with Callie as a Yoshi and helped her defeat three of the Koopa Kids, he earned the right not to be splatted by the green squid kid's charger. While she initially lost the urge to talk some sense into him that day, his good deeds from Friday onward would help him win her over.

"I can't believe you've changed this much, Blue..." Marie acknowledged in surprise. From that moment on, Blue would always offer her and Callie food and rides, which softened her attitude towards the hero…

Anyways, Friday saw us wrapping up our tour of Yoshi's Island, the Spooky Yoshi continuing to guide us through the place, whether it be through more grasslands or even some snowy areas that we even got to ski down! It was fun, though I nearly messed everyone up with a crash and almost turned everyone into an avalanche. All in all, it was a fun day.

Saturday and Sunday were days for harvesting more fruit, and we found out that it was for an upcoming event in three weeks called Fruit Fest, a time spent doing nothing but eating fruits and enjoying fun games such as hide-and-seek, apparently now with interdimensional twist!

That brought us to the here and now. The Spooky Yoshi was off taking care of the forest while we were waiting for the transformation to wear off. Yesterday was the final full day of everyone's Yoshi transformation, which was estimated to wear off around the evening or so. Red and Blue didn't want this to end, though they knew that they would have to go back to being human eventually. As we finished with our meals, we decided to do a little more sightseeing. We had just gotten to the flowery fields, when Callie and Marie suddenly got an emergency transmission.

"Huh?" Callie exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Marie asked.

Pulling up their communications, they were met with Captain Cuttlefish's voice.

"Agents 1 and 2! We have a major issue! We… you… kssht… please… you… come… need… to… come… now…!"

Stunned, Marie only could voice two words as the communication cut off.

"What… happened?"

"I… I don't know…" Callie began. "But the Captain's in trouble! We gotta go NOW!"

Complying, Marie apologized to us that they had to leave so soon and thanked us for a wonderful time.

"Hopefully we can see you again when this is done with!" Callie said. "Until then, you guys have fun with your vacation!"

"Stay fresh!" they called out as they super jumped out of our sight.

"That's… unnerving…" Vio spoke with unease.

"Yeah… Though I guess that's what happens when you're secret agents, huh?" Red guessed.

"S-Should we help?" Shadow asked.

"Without QUESTION!" Blue resolved. We stood in shock of how quickly he said this, though we should've expected nothing less from the blue hero. "Callie… she AND Marie helped me start the path to happiness… I… I feel like I owe them for that…"

"Even if they didn't, we still gotta help them!" Green agreed. "Let's go!"

"Right! Come on!" Kirby triumphed.

As we began rushing to where we saw the Squid Sisters super jump, I suddenly felt… a presence… I wasn't sure if Shadow and Kait could sense it yet, but I had felt… darkness… an incredible amount of darkness near us… I never felt such aura from anyone… except… except…

Suddenly, I felt the need to get Kaitlin out of here. I knew who was up ahead. He had been waiting for us… I could feel it. I had faith in the Links and Kirby, but… if I let my sister so much as get a scratch on her… how would I forgive myself? I had to get her away somehow…

"Kait, I need you to go and tell the Yoshis that we're following Agents 1 and 2 right now. You need to run over there and tell them that we're about to fight a big foe!"

"What?!" she exclaimed. "But I want to help too!"

"And you WILL!" I interjected. "By telling the Yoshis that this is an emergency, you're going to ensure their safety!" I reasoned. She couldn't possibly argue with that logic. "Come on! Please! This is a crisis on our hands!"

"All right," she said as she teleported out of our view. "Don't hurt yourselves before I come back!"

"Don't worry about us!" Kirby cheered. "We'll be fine!" As we continued running, the rest of us got an eyeful of who it was. It was just as I feared… Nay… It was greater than that…

Before us, a caped figure stood before us with his arms crossed. He wore dark-colored armor and had short red hair. His ears were pointy. It was GANONDORF! That wasn't all… Next to him stood… er… floated (?) a dark spherical being that possessed a red eye with bat-like wings… The Links knew him all too well…

"VAATI?!" they questioned in horror.

"Well… if it isn't the Heroes of the Four Sword and their pitiful puffball friend…" he replied. We all assumed battle-ready positions.

"Not to mention… the traitorous Shadow Link…" Ganon added.

Shadow clenched his fists and looked angrily at them during that last line.

"W-What are you doing here?!" Green demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ganondorf began. "Bowser and I didn't take well to our defeat at the hands of that cheeky Blue and Red, so we devised a plot for revenge. We thought that we'd rob the Yoshis of all the fruit that they could have… They would starve and fall into depression, you would watch in horror… a win-win… But it seemed that we had underestimated you fools, and Blue, Red and that annoying bubbly squid had ended our plan before it even began… So… it was time to go deeper… I resurrected Vaati with the powers of darkness, and we along with Bowser began collaborating a scheme that shall finally END you!"

This seemed serious. Either a very serious battle was about to ensue here, or the two villains were going to be so powerful that it wouldn't even be a contest… I saw this situation numerous times before… The five brothers weren't even armed! I felt the curb-stomp coming… I had to think fast… We were about to lose… What could I do to help? My eyes lit up. I had a plan… But it would require the perfect timing… Yes…

Meanwhile, Vaati began speaking while he and Ganon began preparing an attack.

"You little heroes did well to destroy us the last time…" he spoke. "But now, without your precious Four Sword to aid you this time… I am afraid we'll have to return the favor…" But first… How about we have a little fun… For you four and that backstabbing Shadow Link… How about we… SPLIT YOU UP AGAIN! YOU HEATHENS TOO!" he said, pointing to Kirby and me. "NOW YOU, SHADOW, _YOU_ CAN SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A _HERO,_ AND NOT ON THE SIDE THAT WILL _WIN!_ "

As we all stood in horror, we watched as the two villains gathered the last of their energy and cast it onto us. I had just finished preparing my own magic at that moment. I knew that I was no match for them, but at least what I (hopefully) did at that moment mitigated the effects of what they did to us. We all went flying in different directions, screaming at the top of our lungs as we flew different directions. If my plan went to fruition, it wouldn't be too difficult to reunite… We would need to as soon as possible too… Who knew what kind of torture the three villains plus their cohorts would put the other Yoshis through? We had to put a stop to this!

Meanwhile, as they left, it had seemed that our sudden disappearance was not entirely ignored. A certain pair of Inklings as well as a Spooky Yoshi as well as my sister had just arrived onto the scene…

"NO! THE DISTRESS SIGNAL THAT THE CAPTAIN GOT WAS A SET UP!" the one in purple hair cried in tears.

"AGH!" the green kid exclaimed. "We- We were TOO LATE!"

"CHRIS!" Kaitlin shouted. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"I-If only _I_ was there!" the Spooky Yoshi spoke remorsefully, feeling as if he could have done something to prevent this.

As the horrified group of four stood where the seven of us once were, the Yoshi began quickly leading them to safety, knowing that the situation was dire…

 **Well… What a start, huh? My character, Kirby, and the five Links have all been sent to who knows where, just like the events of the Four Swords Manga! Will we be able to reunite in time? Where have we been sent to? Will the Yoshis be able to defend themselves from the three villains and their minions? On another note, I'd like to apologize for how painfully long this took to finish. I'm truly sorry for making you all wait like that. I'll try to be more diligent next time. Guess it's that time of the year… what with the whole writer's block deal. I'll do better. Until then, stay tuned for chapter 2, which will explain the predicament at hand on Green's side of the story! Pikmin-Volt out!**


	2. Chapter 2: Green Issue

Chapter 2: Green Issue

 **Hello everybody! Pikmin-Volt back here again to continue The Greater Hunt for Happiness! This chapter shall go into where Green ended up, and the beginning of his little quest to reunite with the others. I hope you enjoy reading it, and I'd once again like to apologize for the delay in kicking this story off. Anyways, Nintendo owns all elements and characters barring OC's. Enjoy this chapter!**

At the far reaches of Yoshi's Island, on the southwestern corner, a few Yoshis were running back and forth with some supplies in hand. Looking closer, one could see that a red Yoshi was currently holding some melons, bringing them to a nearby mound. A yellow Yoshi was bringing some bagged ice to the same location, not caring that his hands were being frozen solid. Elsewhere, a cyan Yoshi was carrying some bandages to the abode. Inside the house stood five more Yoshis, one blue, one black, one white, one orange, and one pink. They were in a circle and looked rather worried over who they were watching. The person in question was a green Yoshi with orange shoes, out cold and lying in bed. He had apparently fallen down from the sky just a half-hour ago, and as a result, he hit the ground with so much impact that it was surprising that his injuries weren't too serious.

The red Yoshi made it with his melons first. The others looked quite relieved to see him.

"Mikey!" the white one called. "You outdid yourself! Thank you so much! This guy's recovery should be a lot quicker now!"

"No problem!" the red Yoshi spoke. "Um… how's he holding up?"

"Well, he's still out, but he's breathing normally," the blue one informed him.

Suddenly, the yellow Yoshi came in with the ice.

"Got another load here!" he said.

"Nice! Thank you too, Tom!" the blue Yoshi congratulated. "This ought to ease the pain some more."

Enter the cyan Yoshi.

"Bandages ready!" he spoke.

"Awesome, Ken! We'll have this poor guy patched up in no time!" the blue Yoshi cheered.

"All right then. That should be enough for now," the orange Yoshi said.

"Agreed. All we gotta do now is fix him up," the white one noted.

"Let's get started, everyone!" the black one implored.

And with that, they had the green Yoshi properly bandaged and iced within less than ten minutes.

"Great job, you guys!" the pink Yoshi mused. "He should be awake in no time!"

"I still don't believe that those two bad guys were THAT powerful to send him all the way here! Crazy, right Xavier?" Ken asked the blue Yoshi.

"Yeah…" he sighed. "I just hope we can help get this guy back with his brothers."

"Well, we have to be careful about it though…" the white Yoshi named Ralph warned his friends. "Kaleb gave us an alert to stay hidden…"

"Well, it's not to say that we haven't dealt with this before…" Parker the black Yoshi reasoned. "We've had to keep Mario out of the clutches of those Toadies that were ALWAYS hovering over us back then when he was little!"

"That may be true, but this is once again a new threat," Dave the pink Yoshi reminded him. "We don't know what they're fully capable of…"

"Hmm… Perhaps we can ask this guy for guidance when he wakes up!" Tom proposed.

"Not a bad idea!" Mikey thought.

As they continued discussing over this, the unconscious Yoshi began to stir in bed before lazily opening his eyes. This was of course unnoticed… at least until he jolted awake and grunted in pain as a result.

"(ACK!)" he yelped. "(Ouch! Ow! Ah!)"

"(Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!)" Xavier tried to calm him down, noticing that he was panicking in Yoshi language. "(Slow down… Don't hurt yourself.)"

Breathing heavily, the green dinosaur looked around frantically.

"(W-Where AM I?!)" he asked, clearly waking up. Turning his head to the blue Yoshi, he asked him something.

"(Blue? Is that you?)"

Looking uneasily at the others for a moment, the blue dino replied back with some rather disheartening news.

"(I'm afraid not…)" he sadly spoke. "(You were literally flung here by those two villains… Vaa- Vatii? What were their names?)"

"(Vaati and Ganondorf?!)" the Yoshi in bed finished for him, looking like he was recalling something. "(I-I remember! Vaati and Ganon… they ambushed us… and then… and then… Oh no…)"

Looking down sadly, he realized what had happened.

"(My brothers and I are separated again, aren't we?)" he somberly asked.

Turning to each other in sorrow, the other Yoshis nodded back at him.

"(Urgh…)" Green groaned. "(REAL typical of them… Yeah… REAL typical… Trying to divide and conquer us again…)"

"(We're so sorry!)" Dave wept. "(We don't know where ANY of them are right now! They could have been blown well off this ISLAND!)"

Sighing, Green decided to cheer the pink Yoshi up, wanting him to feel all right before anything else.

"(It's all right. I KNOW that I'll be able to find them again. We lost each other before, but we found each other then. I doubt that we'll fail this time.)" he soothed him. "(Besides, it won't be hard at all! Not as long as we have the Four Swo-)" he stopped mid-sentence. He looked around frantically again, the panic starting to settle in more. Where WAS his sword and shield?! Where was his BOOMERANG?!

"(Um…)" he began. "(W-Where's my STUFF?!)" he asked in horror. The Yoshis felt really bad for him at this point. Of course, they knew the feeling of being lost all too well.

That was when Green also noticed that his HAT was gone as well. How was he supposed to be told apart from the other Yoshis NOW?! Well… other Yoshis would have no problem, but what about humans?! Also… Was he speaking… like a Yoshi? Why?!

He tried speaking normally as he was used to, but all that came out was, "Yoshi. Yoshi?! YOSHI!" He tried talking in English again. He had no such luck. No matter how often he tried, he couldn't speak a word of human language. He did this for a good ten minutes or so

"(W-WHAT IS THIS?!)" he questioned in fear. Knowing Vaati and Ganon, it wasn't that hard to guess what happened. They must have not only sent him away from his brothers and Kirby, but they also took away his possessions and even the ability to speak human language, probably to make sure that he couldn't get any help!

Coming to this realization, Green growled in anger and pain, the other Yoshis trying their best to cheer him up.

"(Hey!)" Dave began. "(It's going to be all right! Don't surrender to giving up now!)"

Looking somberly at him, Green countered with, "(But how? Without the Four Sword to guide me to the others, I might as well search this entire ISLAND! And who KNOWS if the others are still even ON the island anyways!)"

"(That may be true…)" Tom acknowledged, "(But have you ever heard of 'Follow your heart?' It's what we Yoshis do all the time! AND… to add to that… we know a very famous pair of Mushroom Kingdom heroes that used this when they were INFANTS!)"

"(Y-You mean the MARIO BROS.?!)" Green asked incredulously. Tom nodded.

"(The one and only pair,)" Ralph winked.

"(So… you're saying that if I believe hard enough, I can find the others?)" Green questioned.

"(It doesn't happen overnight, mind you, but yes,)" Ken replied with assurance. "(With some confidence and belief, you can find the others!)"

Staring blankly for a couple of moments, Green eventually spoke up.

"(Well, what am I waiting for?! I've gotta find the others right a- OW!)" he shouted in pain again. He forgot that he was wounded. Well, it mattered not. A few bruises wouldn't stop him from finding his brothers again! He didn't care what the Yoshis said! He needed to leave NOW!

"(Easy, Green!)" Parker coaxed. "(You need to heal first!)"

"(T-There's n-no AH! There's no time for t-that!)" Green grunted. "(They- I need to find them- NOW! AGH!)"

"(No! Green! You're missing the point!)" Xavier tried to reason. "(We-)"

"(No!)" Green protested. "(I can't waste any more time! I have to go!)"

"(You didn't let us finish!)" Mikey raised a hand. "(We were going to say that all you needed was a few melons, and you're good to go!)"

Green's blank stare returned as did his shock. Was it really that simple? As if reading his mind, Mikey finished with, "(Yes! It's THAT easy! A few morsels of fruit should be enough to fix you up!)"

Still amazed, Green politely asked for the food, to which the Yoshis all gathered around and passed it to him. Given how he normally ate, he held it closed and tried nibbling onto it at first, but he found this to be unsatisfactory. Suddenly, his tongue shot out and gobbled up the entire thing. Looking surprised for a moment, Green shrugged it off and asked for the next one. He ate it in less than three seconds like the first one. Sighing, he realized that his Yoshi instincts had taken over yet again. Why would they not, especially since this was a green Yoshi's favorite food? As he gorged himself on the delicious fruits without hesitation, he found himself complimenting the taste.

"(Not bad, really)" he spoke to himself, though the others heard him.

"(Wow! This is… actually GOOD!)" he cheered. He kept eating and eating, and by the time he got down to the last one, he didn't realize that he had made a full recovery.

"(Aww… Are we out ALREADY?)" he asked in disappointment when he noticed the Yoshis before him grinning. Looking at himself, he saw that the bruises all over him were but completely gone.

"(No way!)" he spoke in awe. "(That… That is… TRULY… AMAZING! I HAVE to tell the others about this when I find them!)"

"(And find them you will! I have faith that you'll be able to reunite with them!)" Mikey confidently told the green hero. Looking to him, Green smiled, glad that he received such kind support in the form of their healing him. He knew what he had to do at this point, but first…

"(Thank you… Thank you so MUCH for saving me!)" Green said. "(That was very kind of you all to do that for me…)"

"(No problem!)" they all said.

"(If I may ask, by the way… what are your names?)" Green asked.

"(I'm Mikey!)" the red Yoshi spoke.

"(I'm Tom!)" the yellow one stated.

"(I am Xavier!)" the blue one revealed.

"(My name is Ken!)" the cyan one said.

"(I'm Dave!)" the pink one popped up.

"(I'm Cameron!)" the orange one waved.

"(I'm Parker!)" the black one introduced himself.

"(And I am Ralph!)" the white one concluded.

"(Nice to meet you all!)" Green spoke as he shook hands with each of them. "(How long was I out for, by the way?) he asked.

"(Just three hours,)" Tom calmly replied. "(It's four right now.)"

"(Wow! Really?!)" Green questioned in awe. "(That's amazing! Thank you again so MUCH for your help! Is there anything I can do to repay you?)"

"(Well,)" Cameron began. "(Not that much, but we could use some pointers on who exactly we're up against here,)"

"(Gladly!)" Green complied. "(You see, Ganondorf, that's his full name, is the King of Darkness that has plagued Hyrule generation after generation, and… he hasn't really been showing any signs of stopping… Me and my brothers… In keeping in accordance to our ancestors years and years ago… We drove him back for the umpteenth time… We sealed him in the sword that you saw us with a few days ago, the Four Sword that caused us to become part of this brotherhood. We discovered months later that he escaped imprisonment yet again, because we found him in Smash Bros. one day. We were initially worried, but when one of our ancestors, Twilight Link as you may know, told us that he would deal with him, we let him, and for a long time, it was only him versus Ganon with us out of his mind and him out of ours… Unfortunately, he began targeting us too again one day, and it eventually escalated to the point where he wanted to fight Blue and Red that day, the day that he and Bowser were humiliated. Ever since then, he wanted nothing but revenge… He tried stealing all of your fruit at first actually, which Blue, Red and that Squid kid Callie put a stop to. When that didn't work, I guess he resurrected Vaati the Wind Sorcerer, who has only resurrected rarely but is still a viable threat, from behind our backs… You have our apologies for that… As heroes of the Four Sword, we're supposed to make sure that such things like that can NEVER happen…)" As he finished saying this, he drooped in embarrassment and disappointment, truly remorseful for letting him and his brothers be ambushed like that.

"(Hey! It's all right!)" Ken cheered him up. "(We're thankful that you told us more about this evildoer. So, let us be clear on this: You sealed him with the Four Sword before, which you implied was stolen from you during that attack.)"

"(Yes,)" Green confirmed. "(And it is only that which can defeat the two villains. We have to reunite and reclaim our weapon!)"

"(Understood,)" the cyan Yoshi replied. "(With that said, we need to tell you something as well,)"

Green nodded, waiting for an explanation.

"(After that attack on you, one of our friends actually devised a plan to ensure the safety of our kind. It involved evacuating to another world that we reside in.)"

Green's eyes went wide. "(You live in another WORLD TOO?!)"

"(Yes,)" Ken confirmed. "(It is one that is even… erm… pardon the description… cuddlier… than this one. It holds so much happiness, and as such, is kept secret from evil societies such as your two arch-enemies. Our FRIEND that we mentioned earlier, his name is Kaleb, is actually the Spooky Yoshi that was your tour guide for the entirety of last week!)"

Green looked shocked at this news, not expecting the Yoshi to have gone that far… Smart! At least Kaitlin, Callie and Marie would be safe for now…

"(Oh no!)" Green gasped. "(But I just remembered something! Kirby and Chris were caught in the attack as well! I-I hope they're all right too…)" Ken put a hand on his shoulder.

"(They'll be fine. After all, you and your brothers will be looking for them as well as each other. We have faith in you guys like said earlier! Um… But we needed to tell you this before you go… The world we mentioned has a very powerful aura… an aura of happiness… Maybe… Just maybe… If you can't retrieve your sword that easily, maybe you can find our world, and it can relieve you of this curse…)"

"(That would be amazing!)" Green beamed. "(But… Ganon and Vaati's magic is VERY strong… I'm not sure that traveling there is the answer…)"

"(It wouldn't hurt to try,)" Ralph chimed in. "(This MAY be a new threat to us, but the least we can do is to TRY and help you!)"

"(Well, all right then…)" Green admitted. "(Wait! How did you know that we're cursed?)"

"(Well, you should have been back to normal by now, plus we can notice how you ACTUALLY can't speak in the human tongue,)" Cameron pointed out.

"(Understandable,)" Green nodded. "(But back to that plan, I'm going to need to find everyone else first. How do you say we get to this special world after that?)"

"(Well…) Ken started. "(The majority of us are going to evacuate soon for our own safety and will probably be done well before you reunite. When that happens, there will not be any way to enter the world. However, Kaleb will give you some clues along your journey and eventually get you to a safe spot to travel to our secret world in via portal. The Yoshis that will stay behind will follow his clues too in time, so don't worry about them. It won't be easy, but it's the only option we have at this point. Until then, we suggest you get going to find your brothers and friends. We'll help you in any way we can.)"

Understanding with a nod, Green thanked them for this advice and set off to find everyone who was lost. As he ran out of the house, Ken had one last piece of advice for him.

"(By the way, you're going to want to get to the next area through the nearest forest by the way! But do hurry! If you linger around too long, night will come, and the enemies will be quite a threat! The other Yoshis can help guide you through the forest!)"

"(Thank you!)" Green shouted as he continued running. He would definitely get directions to the forest, but as for going through it? Truthfully, he did not want any help, not because he wasn't afraid of getting lost, but because if something happened to the Yoshis guiding him, he would never forgive himself. Red and Blue loved these creatures to death, and he surely didn't want to feel responsible for any possible casualty. With a plan set in motion, Green hurried to get some help to get to the location where he would take his first steps in relocating his brothers…

 **And that's chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you didn't have to wait for too long by your own standards. As I have mentioned on deviantart, I have begun college, so you can imagine what else I'm juggling in my circle of life now. I must say, it's quite stressful, and writing this has really helped calm down some. But anyways, that's besides the point. I'm glad to have uploaded this, and I can't wait to start with number 3! By the way, I might as well tell you my strategy for uploading, especially now that something else has come up. I will upload two chapters in succession, but then I will work on a later chapter following the writing of the two chronological ones. It helps get some ideas out of my head that have been cramped for a long time. However, it doesn't end there. I have been given the okay by a certain trio of deviants on deviantart to start writing a story that was inspired by a recent pair of collaborations done by them. After the later chapter, I will write one chapter pertaining to this future story (which I also can't wait to share with you) before finally returning to the chapters that will be uploaded sooner. I hope you understand my reasoning for this method here, and I really can't wait to get ALL of this out of my head and onto the internet! But until then… Zzz… Nighty night! Pikmin-Volt… zzz… out… OH! Where are my manners? I must be sleepier than I thought! Next chapter will focus on where Red ended up and how he copes with the situation. If you remember anything from the manga, he didn't do so well at first when separated. Will that change this time? Find out next time on The Greater Hunt for Happiness! (Okay, NOW it's done. Night everyone!)**


	3. Chapter 3: Seeing Red

Chapter 3: Seeing Red

 **Hello there, viewers! Welcome back to The Greater Hunt for Happiness! Sorry about making you all wait again… I hope you're not too mad. This chapter, we focus on Red's situation at hand and how he'll deal with it. You'll clearly see that it's a little more… extreme than Green's, but now that he's a Yoshi, will it affect how he handles the problem? Let's dive in and find out!**

Deep within the forestry of Hyrule, a red blur fell to the ground. It screamed as it flew through the air, grunting when it finally made impact. Despite how painful the landing must have been, the creature was still conscious, albeit with a few bruises on its body.

"Ouuuuuuch…" the red animal cried. "That was the WORST I've ever experienced such a toss!" he said to himself while slightly dazed. "I can't remember ever being launched that far, except when…"

Suddenly, he realized that something familiar to his past had likely happened.

"BLUE?!" he called out. No one answered.

"GREEN?! VIO?! SHADOW?!" he beckoned, hoping that one of them would turn up.

"No no no No NO NO!" he began to tear up. How could they have been separated again? And just when he and Blue were finally happy together! Those rotten villains! He'd make sure that Vaati and Ganon would be given what for… But first, where WAS everyone? He didn't have his brothers with him! He felt so alone. He felt practically useless without them. What could he do all by himself?

"NO!" Red suddenly thought to himself. "I made a promise to the others when we reunited that day, and that was that I would grow stronger (especially for Blue)!" With determination, he got up, limping a little at first but then shrugging it off as he began his way through the woods.

As he trekked on by, he noticed something. This forest… It looked… familiar… As he tried finding his way out, he found that for some reason it was easier than he expected…

"Strange…" he mused. "I feel like I remember this place… But why?"

Trying to come up with a reason for this, he quickly snapped out of it and continued along. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been here some time ago. He kept moving along, making left and right turns that he was strangely confident would get him out. As he made his way through, he suddenly heard a faint voice.

"The exit!" he said excitedly. He followed and listened out for the voice that got louder and louder the further along the path he went. He was going to be just fine! He wasn't an over reliant person after all!

He continued running along the road, stopping occasionally to check if he was still going the right way. While he stopped one time however, he suddenly heard not one but two voices. He took it as a good sign that he was getting closer, but as he paused again, he heard a few more voices. Not knowing what the conversation that was occurring meant, he just kept following the sound. However, with his continued voice checking, he kept noticing that there were more people than he thought there were.

"I wonder what's going on…" he murmured to himself.

As he was about to take off again, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard a scream. Startled, he wondered if there was any trouble up ahead. Being a hero, there likely was. Such was his life. He bolted with a greater sense of urgency now, hoping that he wouldn't be too late. As he drew closer to the exit, he could hear the screams of horror becoming even louder. Rushing to whatever the problem was, Red kept up the pace as he could eventually see the light. In the midst of all of this, Red didn't notice that he was running extremely fast without needing to stop for a rest.

As he reached the exit, he was hit with another cacophony of frantic screeching. He looked ahead, and that was when he saw what the danger was. Suddenly, the reason why these woods seemed familiar to him made sense. He saw this picture before.

Before him, a village just ahead was coated in flames. Houses had already been reduced to ashes. People were frantically trying to rush out of the zone of calamity. Others were trying to put out the fire to no avail. It was chaos. The worst part was that this wasn't just any village. This… was Kakariko Village: the same village that had fallen under attack during Vaati's reign that time when they had drawn the Four Sword.

"OH NO!" Red wailed in despair. Having been a witness to this disastrous scene before, he was relieved the day he found out that repairs were complete. Now, that relief had instantly been replaced by fear. How could those two baddies have done such a thing AGAIN?! He began to drop and sob before furiously shaking his head. The others wouldn't want him to just sit there like that! He had to focus this time and see what he could do to help! He was a hero after all! He had to do something!

As he ran over to the suffering town, he began to recall memories of what had happened during the first time he was there. He remembered how the townsfolk had blamed him for the fire that consumed their home… Wait… That's not how it went… Well… not at first at least… He remembered this one kid who was running away from the angry mob, and Red, being Red, took his side and defended him from harm when the subject of his apparent attack on the village came up. He remembered how he soon came to regret that decision when he had found that the mischievous boy had not only taken away his sword and shield but had given him the very weapon he had used to set Kakariko alight. He remembered how quickly the child and the mob turned on him as soon as he put himself in a position to be framed. However, he also remembered that the real perpetrator in question turned out to be Shadow Link, and that he was good now… Was he? Could he have turned back to the side of evil just like that? Was he brainwashed? Was he… Was he…

Red again shook his head. He knew that Shadow wouldn't just defect like that. He knew that he had a good heart and that he only did those misdeeds to show the world that he hated being looked down upon. He knew that he would never do that again. It was funny though, because he knew that Shadow was the one who taught him not to trust everything told to you, and yet he trusted Shadow like the brother he was now these days. It HAD to be Vaati and Ganon ALONE behind this. Besides, it was Shadow who stole his weaponry. Because of that, he surely had his equipment this time.

Only, when he reached back to check, he found that not only he was missing his weapons yet again, but he also felt… a saddle?

"HUH?!" he asked in a new sense of rising panic. Looking behind him, he saw that indeed his weapons were gone.

"Vaati and Ganon must have stolen them in the attack!" he thought. "Also, hold on…!"

As he kept running, he looked down at his shoes. They were a dark blue color, the same color that they had been throughout the past week. Looking at his hands, he saw that they still had only four digits.

"I'm… still a YOSHI?!" he exclaimed in surprise. This was interesting… The villains had taken away his weapons, yet he was still a Yoshi. He figured that the transformation would have worn off by now, but it hadn't. Perhaps there was still time left in it? As he pondered over this, he took notice that he was just a few yards away from the burning village now. He was a little nervous at how the locals would react to seeing him, given that he still harbored those scary memories of that time past. He also remembered how the other Knights of Hyrule reacted to seeing a Yoshi (Blue) for the first time. But he figured that now was not the time to worry about himself. People were in peril, and it was up to him to help. There was no other choice.

He strode on into the village, hoping that everyone was at least alive like last time. He looked around frantically, hollering if anyone needed help. He didn't care that the fire was growing in size. All that mattered to him was the safety of the townspeople. He ran from house to house, from shop to inn, shouting at the top of his lungs, hoping that either he'd receive a reply or that everyone had been safely evacuated. As he darted back and forth in his search for the villagers, he suddenly heard one of them cry out from behind him.

"Hey! What are you doing there?!" he heard. Turning his head around, he saw one villager with many (hopefully all of them) behind him. Red, without a second thought, strode up to them.

"It's much too dangerous for you to go out there!" the man told him. "An adorable creature like you probably wouldn't last a second in that fire!"

"Yeah!" he heard a woman chime in. "You'll be buried in what's left of our town!"

"You're a Yoshi, right?" a girl stepped up to him. "We've heard about how your kind turned one of the heroes into a Yoshi himself one day and how he changed because of it! Thank you!" So other people had heard of Blue's story as well? "But this is no place to be right now! We think that the darkness may have been unleashed again, because some Dodongos have been burning our village down! We can't do anything about it! You should probably leave too! We wouldn't want an innocent creature like you suffering the fate we almost did! We're fine! No one has been reported dead, so you should get a move on!"

This confused Red. They talked to him as if he was someone else. Surely, they had to know it was him! He had his hat after all!

"But everyone!" he protested. "It's me! Red! Red Link! The one with the red hat!" he jumped from foot to foot as he pointed to his head repeatedly. If only he knew what news the crowd was about to break to him.

"Um… What's he saying?" another man asked.

"And why is he pointing to his head like that?" a boy questioned.

"Huh?" Red exclaimed. As he felt the top of his head, he felt only the top of his eyes. There WAS no hat covering his noggin! Not only that, but why didn't the crowd understand him?!

"(My hat! Where did it go?!)" he asked in a panic. That was when he figured out with a gasp what had happened to him: not only was he separated from the other four, but this time, he lost his weapons, his hat and his ability to speak human language! With that, it wasn't a stretch to say that he and his brothers were stuck as Yoshis permanently as well. Vaati and Ganon must have put a curse on them that basically made it impossible to tell them apart from humans! To say that things had taken a downhill turn was an understatement. Before, he was framed and forced to flee before he could even explain himself. Now, while he was getting a warmer reception (which he was grateful for in comparison to that time), NO ONE could understand who he was or a word he was saying. How was he supposed to save the town now? He began dancing around in a frantic panic, worrying that this would be the end of the village. The girl from earlier had taken notice of this and went up to comfort him.

"Hey! It's all right, big guy," she soothed. "Don't panic or worry about us. You need to get out of here…"

"(NO!)" Red refused. "(I can't-)" he stopped mid-sentence when he remembered that he couldn't be understood through verbal means. That wasn't going to work, but he had to get the message out that he refused to let these people suffer any longer. Suddenly, he remembered something… Something that he his brothers lived by… That actions speak louder than words…

Without hesitation, he turned around and went right back into the village. He wasn't afraid to try and help these people. He would gladly throw himself into the front lines for them. He would tell them that by DOING what he wanted to say. He would find these Dodongos and do the very best he could to defend the people from their wrath. He may not have had his sword and fire rod anymore, but he was a YOSHI now. There HAD to be some way that he could take advantage of this curse…

"WAIT! NO!" the villagers cried out. "DON'T GO IN THERE! YOU'LL DIE!"

They kept calling for the hero to come back to them, but the dino kept running straight towards the problem. The girl that had just comforted the hero had begun crying her eyes out, fearing the worst for him as was the rest of the town's population. He was just a simple Yoshi! What could HE do about this threat?!

As Red made a beeline through the village, he tried to find these intruders, showing eyes of determination as he made his way through. He searched for the monsters, intending to stay until the last of them was defeated. He thought of using his new sense of smell to try and find them, but he decided against it. For one, he would intoxicate himself by inhaling all of the fumes. Secondly, he didn't know what the scent of Dodongos was like, so he stuck to trying to find them manually. He was starting to become exhausted from the heat, but he didn't give up. He had just turned around a corner when he heard a deep voice that he didn't expect to hear.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't the red 'hero,'" a voice taunted. Turning around, Red saw that it was a Dodongo. He noticed that he could understand what it was saying now, probably because he was a Yoshi.

"Heh… Surprising that the SCARED one has made it THIS far, especially considering what happened the last time he was here…" another monster jeered.

"Guess he really HAS changed… But it's too bad really… For his bravery, we're going to have to give him the heat!" a third Dodongo spoke menacingly.

Looking around, Red saw three Dodongos trying to surround him. He wasn't sure how to act in accordance to this.

"It really is a shame…" the first Dodongo sarcastically added. "Who would have thought that the first one we'd have to kill would be an adorable little lizard? Oh wait… Right… GANON gave us that order…"

"So it was YOU who burned the village again!" Red angrily shouted.

"Aww… And what are YOU going to do about it?" the second one asked him. "Even when you try to look fierce, you CAN'T! You're a USELESS YOSHI, so if I were you, I'd step aside before you do something you might regret!"

"NO!" Red took a stance. "If I let you go, you'll go after THEM instead, WON'T YOU?!"

"Such anger!" the third one "complimented." "You ever heard of the scorched-earth policy? We are just a faction of Ganon and Vaati's new program to make Hyrule into OUR image! And after that, we will take over Yoshi's Island as well as this secret place they're currently evacuating to!"

"WHAT?!" Red yelped in shock.

"YOU IDIOT!" the first two Dodongos seethed at their friend. "YOU JUST GAVE THE SECRET AWAY!"

"Oops…" the third one exclaimed in embarrassment.

"DOESN'T MATTER!" Red interrupted their conversation. "I'm putting a stop to this! I-I won't back down!" he explained while clenching his fists.

"Is that so?" the first one asked. "The hero who has FEAR is going to face US all alone?"

"Maybe I'm afraid…" Red admitted. "BUT I ALSO HAVE _COURAGE_! I'LL FIGHT YOU GUYS EVEN IF I _AM_ AFRAID!"

"How cute…" the second one mused. "Well, can't say we didn't warn you!" he finished as the battle began.

The fire-breathing beasts expelled their breath, Red quickly dodged out of the way. The red dinosaur knew that he needed to be patient and try to find their weakness. He could thank Vio for that lesson. Another combined flame blast came as Red tried to dodge, getting slightly grazed this time. Unrelenting, he kept on avoiding the attacks to the best of his abilities. He was doing well at first, but a few minutes into the fight, the heat was taking its toll on him.

Red swooned over in a daze, trying to focus and dodge the fire, but he was thrown to the ground before he could get out of the way in time.

"What's the matter, Red?" the first Dodongo taunted. "Too much? Well, it's too bad, 'cause it's too late to back down NOW!" he said as he blew out another stream of fire, knocking the hero back a considerable distance.

"Ugh…" Red groaned. "W-What do I do?" he thought to himself. As he trailed off into being absentminded again, one of the beasts took the opportunity to catch him off guard and let out more fire onto him. However, this time, Red not only snapped out of it, but SWALLOWED the attack on instinct.

He consumed the entirety of the flames, and as he did so, suddenly felt a spark of energy in him. The fire… tasted DELICIOUS to him! It felt like a fresh bowl of soup in the morning!

"Fireballs?! YUM!" he squealed in delight. Feeling the attack coursing inside of him, he suddenly remembered something that was common among Yoshis…

Yoshi had told him about how he and his friends played with fire all the time… A Yoshi's special power was to grow wings and breathe FIRE! That was it! Without hesitation, Red breathed his own fire-breath at the Dodongos, confident that he had finally discovered their weakness.

However, the fire had no effect on the three troublemakers. Instead, they stood in place, unfazed, before laughing.

"HA! You think THAT'LL give you the upper hand?!" one of them roared. "Just because you can turn our attacks against us doesn't mean VICTORY!"

Red, losing hope again, continued to jump out of the way of their fire, swallowing it whenever he got too close to some. He was at a loss of what to do again, continuing to eat the fire that was thrown at him, unaware that he was storing up a powerful attack.

As he evaded getting hit by a fireball hurled at him, he suddenly felt a burning feeling inside of him. Realizing that he ate too much fire, he keeled over in pain as the surrounding monsters closed in on him.

"Well, would you look at that," the second one mocked. "Looks like Red's bitten off more than he can chew! Guess the fun's over then…"

As the three Dodongos opened wide and prepared a finishing blow, Red looked up weakly at them and suddenly screamed in pain as the heartburn he had was too much for him at this point. He was unaware that doing this was about to turn everything around…

As he cried out in agony, a giant blast of fire came out of HIS mouth at full force, blowing straight through the Dodongos. While their skin was unharmed, their innards were a different story, as the fire that the red hero expelled had not only stopped their fire, but it also gave them a burning feeling inside.

"HA-! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" one of them cried as the fire had continued to drift inside of him at a painfully fast rate. The other two soon joined him in screeching in agony, surprised and angered that Red had found out their secret in such a manner.

As he continued to breathe fire into their mouths, Red slowly opened his eyes at the sound of their screaming to find that his opponents were starting to glow… As his eyes fully opened, they went into a shocked state, surprised as the enemies that he had this capability. As he pressed on with the involuntary attack, he saw the beasts almost simultaneously self-combust. Jumping back in surprise, Red wondered what had just happened when he found that he had discovered their secret: they couldn't take attacks from the INSIDE!

"I… I did it…" Red mumbled to himself. "I… I ACTUALLY DID IT! *POPOW!*"

Suddenly realizing that he squealed in happiness in Yoshi language, Red let off a blush, though no one was there to see it. At least that's what he thought…

"BAH! THAT WAS JUST BEGINNER'S LUCK!" he heard an angered cry.

"Huh?" Red asked as he looked onward. Much to his horror, there were three more Dodongos coming towards him.

"Well… that was actually GOOD!" he heard the second one approaching him say nonchalantly. "But you can't beat US!"

With a rush of confidence from his last encounter, Red glared at them with a determined smile.

"Or CAN I?" he countered. "Your master may have cursed me to stay like this, but is that really a BAD thing?" he noted, referencing the description of this fanfiction (I mean… WHAT?!).

"Urrrrgh…" the third one growled. "You'll pay for stopping our operation! You hear me?! YOU'LL BE COOKED WHEN THIS IS OVER!"

And with that, phase two took foot. Red knew that all he needed to do was wait for the Dodongos to prepare their fire breath, and he would secure a victory. What he didn't know is that his heartburn from the last phase was still giving him that fiery power of his own. As one of the beasts opened up its mouth to scorch the young dinosaur hero, he found himself and his opponent rather surprised when Red, opening his mouth to try and swallow the fire, ended up expelling his own flames and cooking the monster from the inside out. It exploded like the three before it.

"WHAT?! NO FAIR!" the third one whined.

The remaining two took the hint to stay cautious on when to open wide, for a mistimed attack would cost them. As Red looked for an opening, he saw one Dodongo open its mouth, but before he could do anything, he took some heat in the form of another one grazing him in a sneak attack. Getting up, Red kept his focus, and, learning their patterns, saw one behind him preparing to ambush him. He turned around and fired at the attacker, literally roasting him to pieces. With one left, the rest was a cakewalk, as try as it did, it could not outsmart the red Link in any way possible. All he could do was watch as he met the same fiery fate as the other five before him.

"Wow… Thank you so much, Vio…" Red began to himself. "Thank you so much… for teaching me strategy…"

"YEAH?! WELL STRATEGY WON'T WIN YOU THIS FIGHT! NOTHING WILL!" he heard.

"More of you?" he asked.

"And we'll keep coming too! Ganon's found a way for us to endlessly regenerate, so you can try all you want, but eventually, we'll get the best of YOU!" the second Dodongo of this group said.

"Well, I can do my part in holding you guys off!" Red said with a confidential air to him. "If it means saving the villagers, then I'll KEEP fighting you!"

"Very well, then…" the first one hissed. "Soon enough, you'll FALL!"

The third movement had begun. Red, still with the fire inside of him, knew the drill and waited patiently. What he didn't expect this time was for the three enemies to suddenly try to rush him. He barely got out of the way in time, leaving them crashing into some nearby walls.

"GRRR! We're not going down so easily!" the third Dodongo seethed.

Red just kept up with his evasion, not even paying any mind to any earlier damage done to him at this point. All that mattered was saving the townsfolk from these creatures, and if it meant only being able to hold them off for a time, then so be it. He wasn't having any luck in getting the beasts to open their mouths, but as he dodged another attack, he got an idea.

Leading one Dodongo into the other, he was able to get them to crash into each other, leaving them on their backs, dazed with mouths agape.

"Score!" he thought. Wasting no time, he let loose the flames from inside of him and razed the two helpless monsters before they could act. The third one had just stood there with a mouth open wide, appalled that Red was having it that easy with them. This comedic gesture would prove to be its downfall, as Red took advantage of this event too and struck it down before it snapped out of its trance.

Panting, Red saw more Dodongos in the distance. Maybe things weren't looking so well before, but he believed more in himself now. Even without his brothers, he could prove himself a hero… He could continue to hold off these beasts… How long, he didn't know, but he'd keep doing so for as long as he could. He got ready as he saw a fourth wave coming…

 **And there's chapter 3! Thank you guys so much for waiting for this (I'm sorry if any of you got impatient with me, but like I said earlier, I'm trying to be more lenient on myself to stress out less. I hope you understand…)! Thank you even more so for reading! It seems that Red turning into a Yoshi has only HELPED him, as it has not only given him a method to counter the Dodongos, but also more confidence! The people treating him kinder probably helped as well! Hopefully he can hold off the beasts, but how will they stop constantly appearing? Maybe he'll find out the answer next time the story focuses on him! Until then, Pikmin-Volt out and good night to those who currently live in a time zone where it's night!**


	4. Chapter 4: Feeling Blue

Chapter 4: Feeling Blue

 **Hello, everybody! Pikmin-Volt back here, this time with chapter 4 for this story! Here, we'll find out where Blue ended up and how he copes with the curse and being separated. Before, he was overconfident, but how will he react this time? Let's find out! (Nintendo owns all elements and characters it possesses, not me!)**

Elsewhere in the land of Hyrule, a blue Yoshi had just fallen into some snowy plains. He had gotten his lower body stuck in the freezing snow as a result of the flight. It took a lot of effort to get himself out of there, and even after emerging from the freezing fluff, he was still shivering. He looked around, seeing a blizzard everywhere he gazed which didn't really help his morale in staying warm. Still tilting his head from left to right, a puzzled look crossed his face.

"Huh?!" he exclaimed. "This place… That hill over there… Those trees… The LAKE!"

Paying even closer attention to the landscape, he saw that he recognized this place… How could he forget?! It was this place that he ended up the time he and his brothers were separated! This… was Frozen Hyrule.

"*Sigh*" he groaned. "Looks like those two baddies are repeating history… Wait! GUYS?!" he suddenly remembered.

Panicking, he ran to and fro the icy fields, not caring where the lack of road was taking him or that he was freezing.

"GREEN! RED! VIO! SHADOW?!" he called out. "ARE YOU THERE ANYWHERE?!" He waited for a reply in the midst of the fierce snowstorm, but none came. He tried again, only to get the same result.

"Grrr…" he fumed. "Separated AGAIN?!" he questioned angrily, kicking the snow. "Those two… ooohhhh how I wanna beat them up GOOD again!" He suddenly stopped in the middle of his rant.

"That won't do me any good…" he mused in defeat. "Just raging on like this won't get me any closer to them OR finding my brothers… But… what can I DO?" he asked himself, unsure of what to do next.

Doing the only thing he COULD do, Blue began heading off in a random direction, hoping that it would take him away from this cold weather and closer to his brothers.

He headed off to the west, seeing if luck would take him out of the frosty woods. He continued braving through the storm, not caring that he was chilled to the bone. As he progressed, he began to recall his reaction to being out alone in this area the first time.

"Oh boy, was I DUMB!" he berated himself. He could still remember his initial thought of having fused back into one when he couldn't find the others that time ago. That wasn't even the worst part: he was so self-centered that he had the impression that HE was the main one, the one meant to be the leader. And then, he decided with his boisterous energy to free a woman who turned out to be one of Vaati's underlings. She thanked him in kind by turning him into a herocicle. It was only because of Red that he was saved. Red…

His brother was out there somewhere, likely having no idea where he ended up (though he could guess that he ended up in the same place as last time as well…), frightened at the prospect of being separated again himself.

"Oh, Red…" Blue sighed. It was then that all of the memories came back to him. He remembered what he did to thank his brother just moments after saving him from the ice… He bashed his head in, all because he lost his equipment.

 _"_ _IDIOT"_ the blue hero could hear inside of him. _"YOU'RE LUCKY I DIDN'T POUND YOU FLAT INTO THE GROUND!"_

He heard something else.

 _"_ _WHY ARE YOU SO HAPPY ALL THE TIME, RED?!"_ a menacing voice that was unfortunately his roared.

"No… No! No! Not that! Anything but that!" Blue yelped in pain as he squinted his eyes shut. One after one, visions of him pounding Red and hurting him filled his mind, giving him more pain as they came and went. He was caught swirling in them for a good five minutes before he involuntarily cried out.

"REEEEEEEED! I'M SO SORRY FOR WHAT I DID! I'LL FIND YOU AND MAKE _SURE_ YOU'RE OKAY, MY LITTLE BROTHER!" he wailed. With newfound strength, he started running in the direction that he was going, determined to find Red before anything could happen to him. He would blame himself severely if something had happened to HIS hero. He still remembered that day… That day when Red finally brought him out of his shell… He gave him the happiest day of his life, which became even happier when Chris had turned them (and the other four) into Yoshis again to give Blue a second chance in having a fun time with Red.

"I WON'T let anything happen to him!" he said as he clenched his fists and continued sprinting towards his goal.

"Are you SURE about that?" a voice spoke threateningly.

Turning around, Blue saw nothing. He warily looked around, unsure of where the villain was.

"I think you'll be much displeased to know that you won't be doing such a thing," the figure hidden in the shadows taunted.

"W-Who's there?" Blue asked, his fear beginning to rise. He had a pretty good idea of who this enemy was… He remembered that voice… The voice that taunted him when he went inside that cave where he was told Vaati resided in… He only needed to hear the jeering question that followed to fully recognize who it was.

 _"_ _SCARED to be ALONE?!"_ the entity revealed itself right behind Blue. As it breathed out a blast of ice, Blue jumped out of the way just in time. Looking forward, he saw that it was HER.

"YOU!" he exclaimed.

"Well, if it isn't the blue overconfident yet soft one…" the mage grinned with a slasher smile.

Trying not to have an outburst at this comment, Blue continued listening to what she had to say.

"I've heard that you have improved since we last met…" she "complimented." "However, I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you the deep freeze again."

"I don't think so!" Blue shakily replied, scared but not willing to flee. "I won't go down so easily this time!" he said as he reached to draw his sword and shield. Only, he felt a saddle.

"HUH?!" he gasped in horror.

"Oh, come now. You didn't think that we would play it easier on you THIS time, did you?" the witch taunted. "You're in a FAR worse situation then you think, boy… or should I say… Yoshi. You see, not only do you and your pitiful brothers have no weapons, but your hats and your humanity have also been confiscated, courtesy of our beloved Ganon and Vaati. Have you not noticed how you are speaking in the tongue of a Yoshi?"

Mouth agape, the blue hero slowly began to step back, tears beginning to well in his eyes. Were they finished this time?

"What is this? The BLUE hero… is going to CRY?!" she cackled in delight, prying at Blue's resolve like a leech.

Blue, brought back to those hurtful words the day before he experienced happiness, found himself suddenly on the run.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going?!" the sorceress declared as she began to give chase to the blue Yoshi. She spewed out more ice breath at him which he looked at and evaded by rolling out of the way. Deciding to take things a step further, she began summoning icicles from the ground in hopes of stopping and or impaling the hero in his tracks. Blue, startled by this attack, swerved around the rising icy stalagmites, rushing through the plains as he dodged one move after another. The witch was showing no signs of slowing down or fatigue, with Blue meanwhile starting to flag. He had just dodged an ice blast when he saw a cave. This was no mere cave either. It was the same one that she had frozen him in.

Knowing that he would be cornered if he entered it, he tried heading off to the right, but the mage had seen through his plan and had suddenly brought up the ground in the form of two walls of ice on both sides of them. It was then that he had realized that he had fallen right for the woman's trap. She could have probably finished him off sooner, but she wanted to toy around with his mind and corner him before giving him an end more sadistic than the last one. Seeing that he had no choice but to keep running straight, he did so, becoming increasingly worried as they approached the cavern. He kept using the narrow space he had to dodge all of the attacks, but he knew that he was done for as soon as he'd reach the end of the cave.

As the two of them rushed into the darkness, Blue found himself still running from his attacker, using all the strength he had until he saw the inevitable dead end.

Screeching to a halt, Blue slowly turned around and looked at the now slowly advancing mage who was taking her sweet time in finishing him.

"What a shame…" she grinned. "Guess this is where you become the frozen trophy of darkness…"

Blue was hysterical. He began crying uncontrollably. This was how Red felt when he was alone, and now, he was experiencing the same feeling. What made it worse was that he was about to die alone as well. He didn't think that Red would be able to find him this time either. He felt as if he deserved his fate.

"How touching…" the witch sarcastically commented. "Don't worry… I'll have Red, Green, Vio and Shadow all sitting next to you when I'm done… Just sit tight for a moment, all right?"

Charging up her ice breath, Blue braced himself for the attack. As he did so, more memories of Red came back to him. But this time…

" _I LOVE YOU BLUE!"_ he heard. _"YOU'RE THE BEST BROTHER EVER!" "We'll help you fight those monsters… inside and outside of you…"_ As he listened to these messages, he suddenly felt time stop. He looked back on all the times that he made Red… happy. He… He enjoyed those times. He didn't want them to end. NO. They WOULDN'T end. Maybe last time he was defeated, but this time, he had being a Yoshi on his side. Surely there was something that he could do!

As the mage had expelled her cold breath towards him, Blue found himself extending his tongue outward, meeting the frosty spell and wrapping it around the projectile before reeling it back in and swallowing it.

"ACK?!" the woman shrieked in shock, not expecting this sudden second wind.

As Blue ingested the attack, he suddenly felt a chill inside of him.

"BRRRRRR!" he shivered. "M-Maybe that wasn't the b-b-best idea!"

As he continued reveling in how chillier things were for him now, the witch decided to take advantage of this moment to freeze him for good. Only, she would never get that chance…

Blue was hyperventilating in an effort to stay warm, and as he did so, he found himself utilizing his OWN ice breath in an involuntary fashion, completely catching the enemy off guard. Now, as the hero continued to surround her with icy mist, he ended up putting the MAGE on ice this time.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" she screamed in horror and agony as she comedically tried to use her own magic to stop this from happening, only to accelerate the process. Before both of them knew it, she was a villain…cicle… I don't know!

As Blue pounded his chest to get the frostbite heartburn out of him, he looked up and saw what happened.

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed in shock, not believing what he had just done. He looked at the witch's frozen form, painted in the picture of agony and shock in a literal freezeframe. As he examined his handiwork, he suddenly laughed like a little child that had seen a clown perform a hilarious act.

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!" he rolled on the ground. "DID I REALLY JUST DO THAT?!" he asked himself. Looking at the ensnared villain, it only made him chuckle more, a completely different display from him just seconds ago.

"Looks like YOU'RE not the only one with powers!" Blue boldly stated. "Seems that being a Yoshi is COOLER than I first imagined it would be!"

Still beside himself with disbelief, he was relieved that he would live to continue his mission to find Red and the others. Of course, first, he needed to make SURE that the witch was no longer a problem. But how? Thinking for a moment, he noted that she was frozen solid in a block of ice, even more so than what she had done to him that time back then. In fact, he could see the ice coursing through her weakened body in an unhealthy fashion. That gave him an idea.

"Of COURSE!" he thought. All he needed was something powerful to shatter the ice, and SHE'D meet the same fate! But what could he use? He pondered over this too for a moment, trying to think of something that had enough force to batter the mage to bits. Suddenly, he remembered something else. He remembered when he and Red were fighting Ganondorf and Bowser that day, how he finished the former during their duel. He remembered crashing down onto him with full force, ending his threat.

"Well, I don't have a hammer, so this is all I've got," he told himself. Climbing on top of the ice statue that was the mage, he focused his might into a strong flutter jump, leaping off of the ground with grace and gaining extra height before flipping in the air and descending with such speed.

It was the coup de grace. As Blue hit the block of ice, it and its contents began to crack, beginning at the top and travelling downward. Eventually, the entire thing and even the trophy it held began cracking up everywhere until the moment came.

The ice shattered, taking the villainous woman with it. Blue did it! Thanks to being a Yoshi and using strategy instead of straight up gusto, he prevailed over the enemy that had defeated him the first time! He felt joyous about his accomplishment and danced around in a happy circle. Following that, he decided to settle in the cave for a moment. It wasn't exactly the warmest place ever, but it certainly beat the blizzard outside. He needed a moment to devise what he was going to do next.

"What do I do now?" he asked himself. "I gotta get out of here, but how?" He was at a loss of what to do for a few minutes, but as he was milling over what to do, his nose suddenly perked up.

"Huh?" he exclaimed. He… had a scent? As odd as he thought this sudden moment was, he decided that whatever it was that he could smell might be able to help him.

He tracked down the scent, swerving back and forth as he came closer to finding the point of origin.

"Where are you?" he asked playfully, continuing to sniff out the smell (in the cutest way possible).

Eventually, he found what he thought to be where the scent was coming from. Looking down, he saw a patch of snow that looked shallower than the surrounding snow. Knowing what Yoshis did once they found where the hidden location was, he leapt up and ground pounded again. He certainly didn't expect to travel through the ground this time however…

He plopped down in the snow again, thankfully not getting half-stuck in it this time. However, as he got up and looked around, he was struck with shock and awe.

"Where AM I?" he asked himself. The cave, while still looking menacing as ever, now had icy pillars throughout the place, an icy carpet with diamond patterns adorning it, all leading up to a large icy throne that looked much bigger than the one that Zelda sat on.

"HALT!" he heard. "WHO DARES STEP FOOT IN MY REALM?!"

Blue went closer to the large chair, and as he did so, the visage of the occupant became more apparent.

He was but a single eye surrounded by a pink icy mist which itself was covered in a shield of ice.

"I am impressed AND appalled that you have managed to defeat the ice mage that stood before you… I did not think you had such capabilities, especially after your first encounter with her…"

"Well, it seems you lot underestimated the curse you put on me AND my brothers!" Blue confidently stated with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "I'm guessing you sent her after me both times?"

"Not the first time…" the ice cloud admitted. "But indeed the second. You see, I am a follower of Ganon who worked for him in times past. I was slain by a generation of the hero called Link, but this time, when Ganon and Vaati's magic caused the land to freeze before the darkness recently, I was REBORN… I… am the ice monster… Kholdstare!"

"Kholdstare!" Blue recognized vaguely. "Legend had it that there was a monster that was once a human who's excessive greed over money turned him into… well… you! At least, that's what happened when he entered the Dark World if I'm correct."

"You are, young one…" the villain congratulated him. "With my new mage slain, I suppose that I have no choice but to defeat you!" he declared.

"Well, if it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you'll GET!" Blue confidently struck a(n adorable) pose.

"You would fight ME?!" the frosty monster asked incredulously. "Without the power of fire, you are useless before me!"

"I don't think so!" Blue boasted. "Your boss made a BIG mistake when he decided to curse us into Yoshis! Prepare for a SMACKDOWN, Mr. Ice Guy!"

"Hmph! Then you will feel the cold wrath that will plague Hyrule and other lands for all eternity!" Kholdstare cried out.

"Bring it on, you cycloptic ice puff!" Blue replied.

"All right, then! I'll make you eat those words!" Kholdstare seethed.

"Oh, I WILL!" Blue started. "And I'll hurl them RIGHT BACK AT YA!"

 **Thus, Chapter 4 comes to a close. What did you think of Blue's handling of the situation? It was definitely better than last time where he walked right into the trap, right? I mean, granted, he did it again, but at least he didn't just rush in like an army without a plan (plus, his attacker kind of FORCED him to go into the cave this time, so there's that too…). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed Blue's improved experience in the cold, and next time we get back to him, we'll see the stand off between him and Kholdstare! Until then, it will be a while again before I continue with this story, not only because of school and all of that jazz, but also because of a secret project I'm working on! I'll talk about it more on my Deviantart Account, but until then, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time on The Greater Hunt for Happiness! Pikmin-Volt out!**


	5. Chapter 5: Vio in the Face of Danger

Chapter 5: Vio in the Face of Danger

 **Hey, guys! Pikmin-Volt is back, now with chapter 5! I know it's been a while, but at long last, here's my chance! Here, we're going to cover where Vio ended up and how he reacts to the curse of being a Yoshi! While Green ended up somewhere nice and while Red and Blue were attuned to being Yoshis, Vio, as you may know, isn't so much, and combined with ending up in a not-so friendly place, can he survive on his own? (Nintendo owns all characters and elements in possesses, not me!) Enjoy!**

In the dark depths of a forest, a purple Yoshi had just woken up from an apparently rough landing. He looked around in confusion for a moment, wondering where he was, before something clicked with him.

These woods were darker than they should have been… The forest was dense with trees, yes, but it was almost like there was something else causing the forest to have a feel of gloom over it… Wait a moment… He remembered seeing this place before…

"(THE LOST WOODS?!)" he thought to himself, not wanting to draw attention from any monsters. "(So, I'm back in the forest I was sent to before?)" It didn't seem to end there either. Vio looked around, trying to find his brothers amidst the darkness that he could barely see in. Trying to use stealth this time, as he knew that a solo battle against a horde would mean trouble, he tried peering into the bushes and looking past the trees with what little visibility he had to try and find them. He was very lucky that he didn't draw any attention from a legion of enemies this time, because not only did he fail to find anyone as he searched, but he would soon find out something that had put him at a significant disadvantage.

"(Sigh… Parted again…)" he drooped in disappointment. "(Guess I've gotta find them with whatever I have… Just have to avoid alerting any enemies about…)"

And so, he began traversing his way through the gloomy depths of the forest, stepping carefully and paying attention to the path. He navigated his way based on what he could remember about the woods the first time around. He was thankful to find some familiar turns and sights, such as certain enemy congregations where a few monsters such as the strong and tall Moblins lied in wait for any unlucky trespassers. He did however notice a few new enemy camps where there had previously been none. In them, he saw new faces that he knew thanks to his reading. He saw some scrawny red creatures with tiny horns that were called Bokoblins. Alone, they were a mild annoyance, but in groups of at least five, they were certainly a formidable force.

Crouching down, he began to inch around the camp from a safe distance, stepping carefully. He glanced to the side every now and then to make sure that the monsters weren't even suspicious of his whereabouts. Thankfully, he was doing well in stealth, but as he kept shuffling away quietly, he couldn't help but feel as if something was… off.

He was currently down on two knees, which, for some reason, felt weird as opposed to natural. It almost felt like going on all fours would be better… He tried it out, and to his astonishment and uneasiness, he found that it indeed felt more comfortable.

"( _Strange…_ )" he thought. "( _I feel like I'm an animal doing this somehow… But… Hold on… WHY do I feel this way? Last time I felt like this was…_ )"

Suddenly, in quiet panic, he lifted his hand to touch his face. Instead, he felt his entire nose. That confirmed it.

"( _WHAT?!_ )" he thought to himself. "( _But I thought that the fruit would have worn off by now… Unless… Hmm… Ganon and Vaati might have done more than just separated us this time…_ )"

Feeling his back, he not only felt a saddle, but no weapon or shield there either. Not even a bow.

"( _Yep. I'm getting the growing suspicion that they pulled out ALL the stops this time…_ )" he nodded. "( _Guess I really DO have to sneak my way out of this one…_ )"

So, he continued crawling through the shrubbery, being absolutely sure that he wouldn't draw attention to himself right now. The last time he was here, he did find himself fighting through wave after wave of enemies, which proved to be very exhausting fully-armed. However, he didn't have his brothers OR weaponry this time, and now he was stuck as a creature he had no idea how to fight as. They certainly did a good job of exposing his weakness… Vio had no choice but to slip behind the defenses… But what if a fight was inevitable? What if he was forced to defend himself? What would he do then? He felt a ping of regret for teasing Blue that time a week ago, back when he had no idea how to fight as a Yoshi. Now HE was in those shoes, figuratively and literally. That settled it. First thing he'd do when reuniting with Blue was to apologize to him for sure. In a way, he was part of the group of people that teased him for wanting to be a Yoshi, and now he was eating his words.

"( _*Sigh* I deserve it,_ )" he thought before bringing himself back to the task at hand.

"( _Hopefully, the others are all right._ )" he wondered. He believed that they would be okay in the end, no matter where they were (though he could guess that it was most likely in the places they ended up before. Well… except for one of them… Shadow…

He remembered as soon as he exited the thicket that he was currently sneaking through, that Shadow appeared and tried to coax him into the dark side. But Shadow wouldn't be on the other side this time, and whoever was surely wasn't about to be fooled into an espionage attempt for the second time. He kept thinking on what could possibly be lying in wait for him as he softly plodded through the area. Eventually, he saw some shrubs, which, if his memory served him correct, meant the way out of the deep of the woods. As he approached, however, he would see that there was another problem.

Last time, he was able to slice his way through effortlessly since he had the Four Sword, but since he had nothing but his natural abilities at this moment, he would have no choice but to trudge through the greens. Either that, or risk more time in the deep darkness and try and find some other way through. And even if he did go through the bushes, the noise would surely draw attention to him… Maybe conflict WAS going to be inevitable.

Or maybe not… He got an idea that he hoped would work.

Feeling for a rock on the ground, he picked up a stone after a moment of searching. He turned around and saw the partying minions back at their campsite, still unaware of him. He looked to the stone he had in hand, intent on hurling it towards one of them. These creatures weren't exactly the brightest, so if he managed to score a hit on one of them, he could possibly buy some time with their confusion.

Thankful that archery had sharpened his aiming, along with the fact that he had the natural throwing instincts of a Yoshi, he reeled back, and, going for one of the Moblins, threw the rock with all the strength he had. Quite frankly, he was surprised at how powerful the toss was. Seems that Yoshis were used to much heavier projectiles to throw.

While the enemies were still unaware, the rock flew towards the intended target, striking it in the eye.

"(AAAAAAAAGH!)" the Moblin roared in pain as it recoiled from the shot. As he screamed, Vio stopped for a moment. The foe's voice, while unmistakably that of a Moblin, sounded somewhat human to him. It was like he could make out his grunt of pain. Thinking about this for a moment, he guessed that it must have been that due to the purple Link being a Yoshi, he was able to make out the words and sentences of other creatures. But this was no time to think over that. Maybe it could serve him well in the future, but now it was time to get out.

As he began turning around to delve into the shrubbery, he began hearing that his little idea had worked out better than he had expected.

"(WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!)" the Moblin with a bruised eye questioned.

"(What? What happened?)" one of the Bokoblins asked, unaware of what just happened.

Turning around, the scrawny baddie was met with a sinister glare from his friend.

"('What happened?' Oh, THAT'S rich! You KNOW what happened, you JERK!)" the Moblin fumed at him.

"(What?!)" the Bokoblin replied in shock of being accused. "(WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?!)"

"(DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!)" the Moblin raged. "(YOU THREW A ROCK AT ME!)"

"(WHAT?! NO I DIDN'T!)" his smaller acquaintance tried to prove himself innocent.

"(WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?! AN _IDIOT?!_ I KNEW THAT IT WAS YOU WHO SACKED ME WITH A ROCK!)" the Moblin countered.

"(IT WASN'T ME! I PROMISE!)" the Bokoblin defensively spoke.

"(All right. Come here, YOU!)" the Moblin gritted before picking him up without warning like a cat that caught a squirming bug.

"(PLEASE! IT WASN'T ME! YOU GOTTA BELIEVE ME!)" the Bokoblin wailed in horror for knowing what his "friend" was about to do.

"(You think it's fun to toss stuff?!)" the Moblin asked him. "(LET'S SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO _BE_ THE ROCK!)"

In the midst of this argument, all the other enemies did was watch as their ally was getting punishment for hitting his superior. Of course, they only laughed as they ate more meat, unconcerned.

The Moblin winded up before hurling the Bokoblin into the air, sending him a good few feet away from the campsite.

"(YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)" the little minion screamed as he flew through the air and near a certain group of bushes.

As Vio was sifting through the greens, he turned around and saw the monster headed straight for him. With limited moving space, he decided to duck away from the apparent landing site. It barely worked, as the fiend flew right over his head and just a few steps away from him.

Tensing up now, Vio decided to freeze where he was out of suspicion that any small movement could attract the Bokoblin now. Peering through ever so cautiously, he found that it had been knocked unconscious temporarily from the impact of the toss. Breathing a sigh of relief, Vio continued around the enemy and through the bushes, intent on getting out of the forest for good. He parted every part of the bushes he could, trudging slowly through the dense plant life, hoping that he'd reach the end soon, especially before the monsters back at the camp were aware of his presence. As he snuck through, he eventually saw that there were no more bushes and that the forest had become a tad brighter.

"( _Whew!_ )" he breathed out in relief. "( _That's the hard part done…_ )" he mused. Now he just had to find his way out of this part of the forest, and he would likely be in the midst of some form of civilization. Wait… Civilization? That got him thinking…

The last time he was in this forest, before Shadow arrived, he remembered getting information about the villains' plot. Yes… Now that he remembered, there WERE in fact OTHER beings that resided in these currently darkness-infested woods. Those tiny little plant creatures… What were their names? Deku Scrubs! He recalled stumbling into some who said that they were going to make a shrine for their "Lord Ganon." That was the moment during his first adventure when he learned that the plot to destroy Hyrule was a group effort. Perhaps, if the Scrubs had returned with the darkness, maybe they had more secrets to spill. At first, he wondered if he should even try to get some info from them. First of all, they had likely learned that their clue-giving was a fatal mistake in their plan to cloak the world in darkness. Secondly, now that Vio was a Yoshi, there was no WAY that they would talk with him for even a second. They would likely attack him on the spot. And what would happen if he didn't make it out alive? No! He couldn't bear such a thought. And running away for the sake of his own life was selfish. He was a hero. It was his job to do anything he could to make sure the world would stay at peace. If it meant risking his own life in order to get some intel on how they could progress, then so be it.

So, he decided to take what seemed to him a longer route out of the forest, hoping to find any enemies to eavesdrop on. He searched for a good fifteen minutes, peeking through every bush, checking the ground for suspicious greenery, but finding no Deku Scrub anywhere.

"( _I would have thought that they'd have come back here… Where are they?_ )" the purple hero thought to himself. He was seriously hoping to find at least two in the midst of a discussion, chatty as they were. Maybe the bad guys REALLY thought ahead this time. Maybe he would have to just leave the forest if he couldn't find anyone soon.

Just as he decided to turn back however, he could hear voices. They were high-pitched and quirky, just like…

"( _Yes!_ )" he silently cheered. "( _Finally, some info (hopefully). Tell me something good._ )"

He silently sped over to where he heard the noise coming from, intent on getting as many secrets out of his enemies as possible.

As he approached the source of the sound, the two conversationalists' words were becoming clearer.

"Man! We've REALLY got it good this time!" the first Deku Scrub cheered.

"Yeah, man! The heroes have been split AND cursed into Yoshis! We CAN'T lose now!" the second one revealed.

"( _I knew it!_ )" Vio thought to himself. "( _We ARE stuck as Yoshis!_ )"

"What's more, the heroes have had their hats and weapons taken as well!" the first one squeaked.

"Not to mention, they've lost their human language as well! Bahahaha!" the second one chimed in.

"( _Wait! WHAT?!_ )" Vio thought to himself. What did they just say?! He drew back into hiding and processed what he was just told for a moment.

"( _Huh…_ )" he thought. This really WAS worse than he thought it was. Those two villains probably did as much as they could to erase their humanity so that they wouldn't be able to get any outside help! This time, he HAD to find the others as soon as he could. Red and Blue, he quite frankly had faith in… well… that sounded rude. He at least had more faith in those two than himself. Red was normally timid, but he was a Yoshi like he was now. Perhaps, that ought to be a boost in confidence. And even without that, Red had grown up a lot before the day when he first became a Yoshi. He wouldn't be easy prey this time. He was certain of it. And speaking of, Blue had been mellowed down and changed a lot during the last week thanks to becoming a Yoshi. He really did learn to be more patient this time around, and he learned to control his anger. He was still their toughest guy on the team, but he was also more of a joy to be around for sure now! And that joy was the brightest when he was a Yoshi, something that he would use to his advantage for sure! That brought the whole matter down to him, Green and Shadow. Vio could only hope that they were safer than he was. Come to think of it, since Shadow was on their side now, where was HE? Could he also be in the Lost Woods, since that was where he found him last time? The Temple of Darkness perhaps? Death Mountain? Oh, who knew? He had to get as much information as possible AND find his other four brothers!

As he peeked out of the bushes to try and get more info, he was suddenly met by glowing amber eyes.

"(SHOOT!)" Vio exclaimed out loud for the first time in Yoshi language.

"HEY!" the first Scrub shouted. "IT'S ONE OF THE HEROES!"

"Not just that," the second one started. "It's the PURPLE one too!"

"He was listening to us AGAIN!" the first one fumed.

"Well, we'll tell you something," the second one stated. "We've got the dirt on YOU TOO! We know that you aren't so adapt at being a Yoshi, nope!"

"We sadly can't spill any more beans for you, HERO…" the first one slyly spoke. "But we can give you a little PRIZE for sneaking information out of us again…"

Without a beat, the second one lifted his leafy hand to his mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle.

"Oh, JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYY!" he called out.

"(Wait! Who's Jerry?)" Vio asked nervously.

"Oh, he's our GIANT friend… who's going to be your END!" the first one glowered at him.

"Nice rhyming!" the second one laughed alongside his buddy.

"Thanks!" the first one cheered. "Now, we must be going! Lord Ganon will be most pleased that the purple hero has lived his last!"

Vio could only watch in horror as the two of them fled from the scene with haste before hearing a loud groan.

"(Urrrrrrrrrrrgh…)" he heard a very deep voice. Looking all around for where the trouble was going to rise up, he found himself stumble into a fall.

Getting back up, he felt more of what caused him to fall. There was rumbling. There was more rumbling. There was a short series of them before it stopped, but when Vio looked up, he saw a sight that meant fight or flight.

Towering dozens of feet over him was a cycloptic creature that, while bulky, was very muscular. It had the appearance of a giant caveman, an appearance that Vio remembered all too well.

It was a Hinox. Worse, this one seemed to be an even larger variant than the others he had encountered before in the past. Vio definitely didn't want to pick a fight with this creature. He ducked and began crawling away, hoping that it wouldn't see him. Hinoxes may not have had a reputation for being the brightest creatures out there, but once they got an eye set on as so much as a single wandering traveler, the victim would be DOOMED. They'd get pummeled to death and likely eaten thereafter. The purple dinosaur knew when to back down, and began inching his way out of the forest.

However, no sooner then he began to do so, he found the beast's one-eyed glance brought to him directly.

"(Oh… dear…)" Vio gasped. So much for stealth. Getting up, he made a run for his life.

"(FOOD?!)" he heard the Hinox grunt behind him. That sent him into a little more panic.

"(FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!)" he could hear him roar. The Yoshified Link broke into full speed, not looking back. He kept zipping through, minding the ground, but also the monstrosity behind him as he looked for a way out of the woods. Forget espionage! He had enough info for the time being. Now, he had to make it out with that info ALIVE!

As he rushed ahead, he gave a glance back, and saw the Hinox coming towards him, every one of his steps basically five to ten for the hero. Looking forward, he kept pressing on. At least he wasn't losing any distance at this rate. If he kept this up, he'd be out of there before the Hinox got him.

However, he suddenly felt the ground rumble more beneath him. To his shock and horror, the beast had began RUNNING at him now. He watched as the monster began shortening the distance between the two within mere seconds. Flight was becoming less of an option, it seemed. That beast would soon be where he was, and it was either fight or be eaten. Seemed that karma was taking its toll on him. He didn't have any eggs or anything either! As he was being approached, he suddenly remembered something. He may not have had any ammo, but he did have other new skills as a Yoshi now. He stopped on the spot and stood his ground, ready to battle this giant menace. Hopefully, he could win.

The Hinox saw what he was doing, and also skidded to a halt right before him. Attempting to flatten him into a pancake, the beast curled its hand into a fist, and flung it to the ground. Vio dove out of the way, dodging the blow and landing at a safer spot nearby. As the Hinox looked in its palm to see what happened, he was dismayed to see that he missed. Vio took the opportunity to give him a hefty kick. Once he saw the monster get up, he distanced himself again.

"(Urgh… Hey… Food… Fight… BACK?!)" the creature whined. "(No matter… Tasty lizard… is MINE!)"

"(Lizard?!)" Vio huffed. "(Ooohhhh… You're going to regret saying that! Now, you've REALLY got me MAD!)"

To prove his newfound motivation right there, the purple Yoshi suddenly leapt forward and scuttled on the giant's foot, causing the latter to wince in pain and jump around in agony while holding his injured appendage.

"(OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!)" the Hinox cried out. "(My meal… has… attitude…)"

"(You sure got THAT right!)" Vio proudly "agreed." While the villain was tiding to his wounds, he took the opportunity to bruise him with some more kicks. The beast attempted to slam him into the ground with his two hands, but Vio wouldn't have any of that. He simply dodged again. More enraged and frustrated, the Hinox began jumping wildly, slamming the ground multiple times, hoping to land a blow on the hero, who had merely sidestepped every single attack.

As the Hinox grew tired, he slumped over, signaling Vio's turn. He leapt forward and gave kick after kick, now having more faith in himself that he could actually go as far as to slay the beast, and as a Yoshi no less! Red and Blue were right! This WAS fun as it was hilarious! To think that he and the others always relied on their weapons all the time! Such madness! Here he was, proving that Yoshis did indeed have their own strengths that didn't come in the form of crafted artillery.

Perhaps, the hero was having a little too much fun, because he decided to take it a step further and try something else. He remembered that Yoshis could batter their foes down with their own HEADS too, so he thought to give it a spin. He certainly gave it a spin all right.

As he launched himself and batted the Hinox with his strong skull, he found that he made the attack a little too strong, and had ended up faceplanting into the ground.

As the Hinox recovered from the fatigue of its previous attack, it saw that its meal was stuck in the ground. How perfect!

He grabbed a hold of the purple Yoshi, leaving nothing but his dirt-covered head sticking out as he brought him out of the ground and near his mouth.

"(AAAAAAAAAAGH!)" Vio screamed in horror of what was about to happen.

"(YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS! DINNER TIME!)" the Hinox drooled in anticipation.

Vio tried to get out of the creature's grip, but to no avail. Was this really it? Were the other four going to have to do this without him? Was he really done for?

As he approached the giant gaping maw of the beast, he got an idea… a disgusting one, yes, but it was the only chance he had. Without hesitation (kind of), he suddenly chomped into the flesh of his captor's hand, stopping him cold in his tracks.

"(G-G-GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!)" the Hinox screamed in more pain as his hand went open, allowing Vio to escape. As the purple hero fell out of his grip, he decided that he had to get some comeuppance for what just happened too.

Mustering all the strength he had, he flutter jumped up to the creature's single eye, and began scuttling on it, being sure to dig his heels into the weakpoint.

"(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!)" the beast roared in agony as Vio leapt off and gently touched back onto the ground.

The Hinox fell onto the ground, its hands covering its eye, as he flailed about in pain. Another chance for the hero!

He wailed on it, scuttling and kicking, and even got a good head-slam in that didn't leave him in a stunned state unlike the last time. By the time the Hinox got back up, which was quite a while, it was bumped and bruised everywhere. It still wouldn't relent, however.

"(URRRRRRRGH!)" it groaned. "(Meal will NOT GET AWAY!)" it demanded.

Suddenly, it walked over to a nearby tree and uprooted it, much to Vio's surprise. He certainly didn't expect that. As shocked as he was, though, he wasn't going to let it ruin his survival.

The Hinox approached him with the giant plant in both hands, rearing it back as he got closer. Vio was able to telegraph what this meant: it wanted to use it as a spear.

As the beast thrust the tree forward with sudden motion, Vio jumped out of the way yet again, much to the ire of his opponent. He knew that with his opponents' arms outstretched, he now had another chance of attack. He went in for more kicks, stopping when he saw that the creature was about to attack again.

This time, he jumped up into the air and came crashing down on the ground. Vio, while he did dodge the impact, got hit by the shockwave it caused, getting launched into the air for a moment before hitting the ground. As he looked up, he saw that the Hinox was preparing to throw the giant log that was the tree at him.

As the beast tossed the wood at him, he, in an act unexpected even by him, leapt over the toss like a jump rope, before instinctively picking up the projectile as if it was nothing more than a giant egg and spinning.

The Hinox's smile turned into a frown of fright and horror as it watched the Yoshi maneuver the giant tree with the same strength of its own, and the Yoshi was SMALLER!

"(H-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW?!)" it asked in disbelief.

As Vio finished preparing his toss, he hurled the giant log straight at his foe. The Hinox only watched as it struck it right in the eye, pulverizing it. That did it.

Vio panted and watched as the Hinox before him collapsed onto the ground, falling onto the dirt before exploding in a giant plume of dust.

"(YAY! I DID IT!)" Vio jumped up and down in joy as he realized his Yoshi instincts were causing him to celebrate in a childishly happy manner.

"(I mean- erm… All in a day's work…)" he said as he dusted his hands off. "(But how did I DO that?!) he asked himself. "(Is that REALLY how strong Yoshis are?! They CAN throw those giant eggs… Hmm…"

Suddenly snapping out of it, he shook his head.

"(There's no time to think about it!)" he explained to himself. "(I've gotta find the others and make sure they're all right! I can't stay in this forest any longer! It's too dangerous!)"

As he continued rushing out of the forest, he could agree on one thing.

"(Still, though… I gotta admit that fighting as a Yoshi isn't half as bad as I expected it to be…)"

 **Finally, Pikmin-Volt! You've uploaded chapter 5! That's… what I'm telling myself right now… I'm so relieved to get back into this. Again, I can't stress enough on how sorry I am that I took so long. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope the wait was worth it. Thanks again for your understanding and support, and have a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hanukah! Happy Holidays, and next time, we'll see what happened to Shadow! I'll be back in a few days! Pikmin-Volt out, and until then, have a nice break!**


	6. Chapter 6: Shadow of Past and Now

Chapter 6: Shadow of Past and Now

 **Hello, everyone! Pikmin-Volt here! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday celebration, and I hope you got what you wanted this Christmas! Here we are back with chapter 6, which will show what happened to Shadow! What's interesting is that he was part of the cause that split them up in the manga, since he was… well… you know… bad. But now that Vaati and Ganon know that he's a traitor, what plans do they have in store for him? Let's find out! (Nintendo owns all characters and elements it possesses, not me. I just own my own elements and OC's.) And thanks again for being patient with me!**

In the volcanic regions of Hyrule, and in a rocky landscape called Death Mountain, a home to many hostile lifeforms accustomed to the heat and stones, a small black dinosaur was sleeping near the base of one of the mountains. It had just taken a nasty fall from a location far away, from another world. He had been asleep for at least half an hour, out cold from being sent all the way here. Thankfully, he had landed in a quiet area untouched by the local monsters as of yet. He was beginning to twitch and move about as he woke up.

"Urrrrgh…" he groaned as he sat up. His head was sore all over, and as he opened his eyes, he saw that his vision was all blurry and distorted. Trying to snap out of his days, he grabbed hold of his head, not expecting what to feel on top of him.

He felt… his own eyes… at the top of his noggin? There was something else amiss too. He didn't feel a hat. It only took this strange feeling to perk him up into full awareness.

"(Huh?!)" he exclaimed in what he immediately noticed to be a voice that sounded… squeakier than his natural voice, and also familiar…

"(Wait! What?!)" he said as he looked all around himself. His shoes were boot-sized and white with yellow soles, he could see his own nose in his peripheral vision, and he was slightly larger than normal. Oh, no…

"(Am I still a… YOSHI?!)" he squealed in horror. "(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!)"

But why was he still a Yoshi? Wasn't today supposed to be the final day? Shouldn't it have worn off by now? And… where were the others? As these questions filled his mind, he slowly began piecing the situation together, until…

It instantly clicked in his mind that the others were gone as well. Green, Red, Blue and Vio… All of them… That was when he realized that the situation he was in wasn't one of mere coincidence.

This… was what happened with the other four the first time… And HE was responsible for that one… Well… along with…

The realization hit him again. He remembered earlier today, when things took a turn for the worse… Yes… Callie and Marie, the agents, got a distress signal from their captain, then… while everyone was susceptible to an attack, that was when THEY appeared… Ganon and Vaati… He remembered enough now… He may not have been conscious at that exact moment, but he remembered some attack being prepared to blow them away… Seemed that it worked unfortunately. And now that Shadow was on his brothers' side, he too was now a victim to the separation that occurred. But this time, it didn't seem to stop there…

Shadow noticed that he wasn't able to sense the presence of darkness around the mountain, which would have been a lot considering how this was one of the main gathering grounds for such evil creatures. No matter how much he tried to, he felt that his magic was somehow locked off. That sold it for him. Clearly, he and his brothers were also cursed in addition to being separated.

"(Cool…)" Shadow facepalmed. That was when he also noticed that he was speaking in Yoshi language. That was… odd… Was this because he secretly liked being a Yoshi like Blue turned out to?

Trying to revert to human language, all that came out was, "(Yoshi. Yoshi?!)"

"(WHAT?!)" he squeaked. "(Why can't I… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGH!)" he then growled (in an adorable voice) as he was getting sick of these bad news revelations. They couldn't even speak human language anymore?! This in addition to the loss of their hats (as he guessed it) was likely to conceal their identities to everyone who would happen to see them. Confiscated weapons too?! This was probably it for them! Well… Maybe not for, say, Red and Blue, but this was karma at its finest for him, Green and Vio. They were three to laugh at Blue's predicament a week ago, and now look at them. This was humiliating.

Wondering how to even find his brothers at first, he figured that the best course of action would be to try and scale the mountain while avoiding conflicts for his own sake (since he wasn't so accustomed to being a Yoshi, much less fighting as one).

With a sigh, he began the trek upward, prepared for any danger that might arise. This was definitely the haven of monsters that he remembered it being previously. At least this time he wasn't among them. He could thank his four brothers for that. Even if it meant death, he was glad to have become a hero back in that adventure. Some of the monsters he commanded… At the time, they were fun to be around with… But being loved and sharing that love in return to the world was something that ruling with an iron fist just couldn't beat. It was that reason that despite his current disadvantage, he refused to let the evildoers get away with their act this time. Ever since he was brought back to life by the Four Sword itself that day, he was perpetually haunted by the guilt of what he had done when the Dark Mirror brought him to life on that apocalyptic day. Curse that thing! If only it never existed. The hunk of glass that caused everyone in Hyrule so much suffering, and he was a byproduct of it. That literally villainous pig Ganon had found it, and released him into the land to cause havoc, and for what? Thank GOODNESS for Zelda and his brothers. They gave him the one thing that his former superiors AND the mirror combined could never hope to give him: love and affection. He felt like a better person the moment he started working alongside them, saving Hyrule from threat after threat, major or minor. But none of these good deeds would fully heal the scars that he carried. He still remembered the screams of the people, townsfolk, castle staff, EVERYONE… The screams that he caused… It hurt to think of, especially now that he was a Yoshi… He was a creature of happiness now, but it would never erase what he did in the past… He found himself forced to stop in his tracks for a moment to shed a few tears before snapping out of his trance. That was in the past. Now, he had to show the world that who he was then would not define the changed person- er… dino that he was today… If there was at least one good thing that came with being a Yoshi, he felt a little more… redeemed…

Anyways, first thing was first: he needed to find his brothers. If he could get to somewhere high, maybe he could scope out where they ended up, or any clues at least.

Climbing proved to be easier than he expected. This was because for one, he was taking the side with all of the ladders and stairs that were built for tourists who dared to visit this dangerous location. Another thing to consider was that he had a lot more endurance as a Yoshi now, another reason not to pout about being transformed. Could Vaati and Ganon have flubbed their plan to destroy them by letting them stay as Yoshis? Maybe… That's probably how Red and Blue saw it at least. He could only hope that wherever they were, and wherever Green and Vio were, that they were safe and sound.

He continued his climb for a few more minutes, when suddenly, he saw an anomaly on the mountainside. There was a spot that was… unnaturally dark.

Rushing over to the misplaced dark spot, he found that inside was a dimensional tunnel of darkness, and that further inside, there was what seemed to be more of the landscape that he was currently treading on.

"(Strange…)" he pondered. "(This portal looks like it connects this area to the foothills that I just climbed up from. But why would Vaati and Ganon leave something like this HERE? Seems like an awfully convenient way back to the start if I needed one…)"

This portal had piqued his interest. Why WOULD those two just leave it lying down HERE of all places? It couldn't have just been left there for HIM.

"(No way!)" he mused when he recalled something. This portal also looked familiar in appearance to that one time when the other four were separated before… And not just that… All the monsters he once commanded used them too for fast travel so that they could wreak havoc on civilians within an instant! Oh no…

Knowing what this portal was here for now, he decided to jump in, intent on stopping any more monsters from using this and any others nearby to destroy Hyrule. He may have been on their side once. He may have been turned into an unarmed small dinosaur now. But he wasn't about to let that discourage him from doing what he could to stop the two he once served so foolishly.

As he popped out the other end of the portal, he saw that he was in for quite a surprise.

He did not teleport near the foothills as he thought he would have, but rather… near the forest that resided midway up Death Mountain. He remembered this place too… It was where he and his former creatures of darkness terrorized the livestock that resided there. Would the guilt ever end? But there was something else… wrong about the place.

Usually, this forest resided just above the foothills and under some overlapping rock, where lava usually wouldn't reach. However, he took a good look around, and found that this place was now suspended on some sort of plateau. And the plateau just so happened to be placed in a spot where an eruption would spell doom for all of the animals directly blow the spill of lava. As he quickly processed this, he heard some marching from behind the rock that he was standing against. Peeking out, he found out that an impending lava flow wouldn't be his only problem.

Just before him, there was an entire legion of Dodongos marching by the rock that he was hiding, heading towards another portal to their right. Looking further beyond his cover, they were coming from another portal. Observing the one they were coming through, he noticed that it was the place where he himself once presided: the Tower of Flames. It was the original hiding spot of the cursed Dark Mirror. When he looked to where the beasts were headed, he froze, his blood going cold.

The other portal was headed to a village… A village that was coated in flames… And it wasn't just the inferno that looked familiar… The wreckage amongst it brought back a pang of a memory he knew all too well…

This was Kakariko Village, the place that HE personally set fire to back when Link first drew the Four Sword. Another wave of guilt washed over him, the memories of terror on those people's faces being brought back to the front of his mind. The people of Kakariko Village in particular would not let him inside their town for months before his four brothers finally convinced them of his turn. Even then, whenever he found himself setting foot inside, he saw their looks. He saw the suspicions, the uneasiness and the angry scowls on people's faces. He knew he deserved them.

But this was worse… Before, it was him alone that did the deed. Now, an entire ARMY was charging into the defenseless village, clearly intent on burning it lower than down to the ground.

Forget what the people would think of him alone. How could he hope to even stop this nightmare?! If he was seen, then he would certainly meet his end within seconds. Was this it? Did Ganon and Vaati finally bring about Hyrule's apocalypse with no way to save the land? Was this how the heroes would go out?

Shadow decided that at the very least, he should sneak away and check if any of the animals had been harmed.

Sneaking away with the rock in front of him at all times, he slowly crept towards the endangered forest, hoping that he wouldn't be spotted, and that all of the benign creatures were all right.

Unfortunately, Shadow had failed to consider that the rock was not wide enough to shield him from the sight of all of the Dodongos. As he slid away from them, some of them caught sight of a black Yoshi.

"(HEY!)" he heard a deep grunt.

"(Oh, dear,)" the dino mused.

"(HEY, it's the traitor!)" another one hissed.

"(It IS!)" he heard a third one angrily reveal. "(But would you look at him now…)"

As all of the Dodongos had turned their sights on the Hylian Yoshi, they locked their glares on him as the latter gave a nervous grin.

"(Err…)" Shadow trailed off. "(Hi…)"

An enormous amount of laughter erupted from the line of enemies as they saw their former commander.

"(GYA! HA! HA!)" one mocked. "(How's it going, Mr. I'mascaryshadowlink?)"

"(Hmm! Looks like you've been CURSED! BAHAHAHAHAHA!)" another chimed in.

"(How nice of you to show up here!)" a third one spoke in sadistic glee.

"(It will be nice giving a TRAITOR a most fitting FIERY death…)" a fourth one grinned as they all began to close in on him.

Shadow, looking around frantically, was beginning to sweat at this occurrence. He was cursed into a creature that he had no idea how to fight as, he had his magic taken away, and now he was going to be executed in a heated end that was reminiscent of the one he attempted to give Vio that time when he found out that he double crossed him. Not a couple of hours had he just been separated from the others, and now he was going to die? What could he do?

Looking behind, he saw that the monsters hadn't gathered around there yet, and so began to take off just as they began to literally open fire.

"(GET HIM!)" one of the Dodongos roared as they all began gunning for Shadow, who was running as fast as he could.

The rare Yoshi made a beeline for the unguarded side, towards the path that carried on into the forest. He was surprised at how fast he was running, managing to zip through without breaking much of a sweat. He didn't know how long he could flee like this, but at the moment, he was fine… Or that was what he thought…

He continued dashing away from his pursuers, trying to lose them with some turns, and attempting to gain some distance from them with some rather sloppy flutter jumps (that would more often than not land him face-first on the ground for a moment before he quickly picked himself up and continued running.) No matter what he did though, the fire-breathing beasts were still hot on his tail. As he frantically tried to get away, he turned his head to where he was heading, and saw that it was for the forest…

"(No!)" he exclaimed in horror. Whether the enemies intended it to go this way or not, he knew what they were doing now. They were leading him towards all of the animals that were likely taking refuge there! He was playing into their hand! He had to fix this fast, or more than his life alone would pay the price. But how? They were relentless, turning whenever he did, busting through any obstacle he jumped over, you name it.

Realizing that he didn't try to use bushes as a stealth option yet, he tried looking for one that could fool his followers. As he did so, he noticed that the Dodongos had gotten closer, evidenced by the rumbling of their footsteps becoming stronger.

Gasping in horror, Shadow saw another turn with a bush covering both sides of it. He figured he might get a few scratches from delving in, but at this point, it was better than being brutally burned to death. It was a few nicks versus the end. No contest.

As he cut around the greens, he suddenly jumped backwards into them, hoping that the enemies wouldn't take notice of his sudden stunt.

Unfortunately, they saw the bushes rustle, and all began to gather around it as if they were getting in a combo-attack position.

"(Great,)" Shadow grunted. So much for that idea. It was over now…

"(Oh, Shadow… You poor thing…)" one of the surrounding beasts taunted. "(Trying to hide like that? What an amateur stunt… Guess the fun and games end here!)"

"(To think what you could have had if you had just stayed with us…)" another jeered.

"(You see now… At least with the Dark Mirror, you could have just kept coming back for more…)" a third one lied. "(Only now… it looks like you'll have to face the light!)"

They all began preparing their fire breath, fully intent on ensuring the Yoshi's demise. Shadow, inside the bush, was panicking on the inside. There was trouble on all sides. No escape anywhere… Was this how he'd truly go out? NO! There had to be something that could be done. Dodongos surely had a weakness that he could exploit. Wait! Yes! He had remembered going over what Dodongos hated ingesting… Bombs! But… he didn't have those… But… Maybe bombs weren't the only thing that he could use on them… Bombs weren't the only things that could take them out from the inside. It was explosions too that worked! But… he didn't have anything that could make them blow up internally! Unless…

He recalled that Yoshis themselves could store attacks in their mouths before expelling them onto the enemy. They were essentially the opposite of Dodongos. The creature he was at present may have been susceptible on the outside, but inside, he could hold… yes! Fire! He could hold fire in his mouth! He saw it numerous times when a Yoshi did its Final Smash. And not just then. He recalled all the times he saw them. They would literally eat the fire nearby them, and then expel it in a much larger volume towards their intended target! Maybe… If he timed it just right… Maybe it wasn't over for him after all.

As the fire-breathing beasts expelled their flame, the Yoshi, hoping that he could pull off a good jump just this once, leapt high into the air, stretching his tongue out towards the fire before reeling it back in with some of the inferno into his mouth. It felt a little spicy to eat, but strangely, compared to other things he ate, it seemed rather mild. This was most likely because he was a Yoshi. There was no time to think over this. Now, it was time to take the battle to his former tormentors and blow them into incineration.

Opening his mouth, he braced himself and let loose a flurry of fire, much larger than what he had gathered, onto the Dodongos, aiming for their mouths.

The beasts, now with a sense of horror in their eyes, attempted to fight back and try breathing more fire to counter the hero's. However, neither they nor Shadow knew how strong the latter was now.

As the two streams clashed in midair with each other, they went back and forth for a while, no side faltering in the effort to overpower the other. The Dodongos went as far as to combine their fire into one steady stream to outdo Shadow's. While it pushed back a considerable distance at first, that was the furthest it would ever get.

Shadow, with his courage returned to him as a result of seeing what he could do as a Yoshi now, fought back even more, unleashing as much fire as he could, using himself as a basic flamethrower. He had to keep going. He may have had a rough past, but the other four were counting on him now. And Zelda… She taught him that he didn't have to be bad because he felt neglected. He knew that he could still do good thanks to her. And he would live up to that promise that he made ever since he was revived that one day.

He began turning the tide on the opposing team, redirecting the fire to them, slowly but surely. The others saw this and tried to shove it the other way again, but it didn't work this time. With them at their limits, which were all-together outclassed by a single Yoshi, they used all the strength they could to try and counter the counteroffensive, but it was for naught. They could only watch as the fire reached one of their mouths, the heat immediately harming the first target. As Shadow saw that he had hit the first mark, he began to tilt his head so as to direct the flame towards the others nearby. The remaining Dodongos, too tired to even try and run away now, bore witness to their lives being snuffed out from the inside, watching as themselves and their comrades blew up like natural bombs, never to see the light of day again.

As Shadow let out the last of his internal fire onto the final Dodongo in the group, he approached it as he saw that it was keeling over in its final moments.

"(Uuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrgh…)" the mortally wounded beast groaned.

"(Well, well, well,)" Shadow smirked. "(Looks like we BOTH underestimated Yoshis' power!)"

"(Pfft…)" the Dodongo scoffed. "(You think you've WON because of this? I've got- *COUGH!*- news for YOU! We have… an endless… ARMY! We are being mass-produced by… Vaati and… Ganon… As long as you don't stop… them… You and that annoying little cheery RED… are as good as done… fighting us… The two of you… can't… do it… forever…)" he finished as he blanked out and dropped, about to explode.

"(WAIT! Did you say… RED?! As in, RED LINK?!)" Shadow asked with a sense of urgency. Was Red out there somewhere fighting or running for his life as he stood here?! Where?! Was he all right?! He needed answers NOW!)"

"(HEY! ANSWER ME!)" Shadow demanded angrily. "(WHERE'S RED?! WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO TO HIM?!)" He got no response.

"(I'M SERIOUS! GIVE ME ANSWERS NOW!)" he shouted. Unfortunately, the creature disappeared in a plume of smoke in that moment.

Slumping down in defeat, Shadow felt a new wave of fear wash over him. There was an endless army of Dodongos coming out to burn the forest and Kakariko Village alive. As if that wasn't terrible enough, Red was in the mix? Was he all right? Was he…? No! He had to have faith in his brother. He had grown up a lot since the first adventure, and with that came more bravery and confidence. And now that he was a Yoshi, he surely had more of an edge… After all, he was the one who enjoyed it the most out of all five of them. He certainly wouldn't give up so easily. He had to have faith that wherever he was, that he knew what to do in this situation… And as for Shadow himself, he had to do his part and find out what was causing the Dodongos to endlessly rampage…

It was then that he heard a high-pitched voice from behind him.

"(D-Did you see that?)" a squeaky question resonated.

"(H-How did he do that?)" another animal asked in perplexment.

"(Is that a… Yoshi?)" he heard a third animal as he turned around and saw an entire heard of various creatures approach where the Dodongos once were.

He saw an assortment of deer, squirrels, owls and even bears come out of their hiding spots nearby. They were looking at the ground the beasts once terrorized before their apparent hero had come. Suddenly, all eyes fell on said hero. Shadow froze up, not even speaking to them and letting them have the first word.

"(D-Did YOU defeat those monsters who were tormenting us?)" a deer asked.

Not sure what to do for a moment, the black Yoshi nodded, worried that they would recognize who he really was.

"(No way!)" a squirrel cooed in amazement. "(YOU really beat those fire-breathing menaces SINGLEHANDEDLY?!)"

"(Um… Y- Yeah…)" Shadow found the courage to answer.

"(What can we SAY?!)" a rabbit jumped up in joy. "(That was so sweet and awesome of you to help us like that?! I can't believe that a YOSHI came to save us?! W-We're so… honored!)"

"(Oh, please…)" a bear chimed in. "('Awesome' is an understatement! You SACRIFICED yourself to save this forest! You could have DIED! WHY did you come to save us?!)"

At a loss for words, Shadow found himself replying with, "(I'm a Yoshi, and helping others is what we do. It's the RIGHT thing to do.)" He honestly didn't expect that to come out, but for a reason, it felt… right to say that. Helping others was already a given for him, since he was driven by being a hero and by his guilt-inducing past. However, he was a Yoshi now, and there was something about it that brought him actual happiness as opposed to basic relief that he did good. This… was how Blue felt when he started embracing the transformation, wasn't it? Maybe being a Yoshi WAS for him too.

"(What are you doing here anyways?)" a deer asked.

"(Oh, um… Funny story…)" Shadow began. "(I didn't really come here on my own will. You see, my brothers and I were separated by Vaati and Ganon, and I guess I ended up here. I'm trying to find them…)"

"(Oh, that's awful!)" an owl shook his head. "(Your brothers are missing?! And you said THOSE two sent you different ways?)"

"(Yeah, and who knows where they are…)" Shadow pondered. "(They could be anywhere across Hyrule or Yoshi's Island (though I guess since Red ended up in Kakariko, the other three might be in the same areas as the first time)…)"

"(Well, that's no good!)" a squirrel mused. "Got any leads on where they could possibly be? We can help!)"

Shadow jumped back in surprise as he heard those words. These animals already seemed friendly, but now they'd help him? He wondered if they'd stick around if they found out who he really was…

"(Really? You guys don't have to…)" he tried to deny their request to help.

"(Oh, we insist!)" the first bear replied. "(You helped save us from the Dodongos, so it's the least we can do!)"

"(R-Really… I'm sure I can find them alone…)" Shadow nervously spoke, starting to sweat.

"(Are… Are you okay?)" a bird asked worriedly.

At this point, Shadow began having a breakdown, scared that in the next few seconds, the animals would turn on him, and rightfully so. He may have stopped the Dodongos, but it sure didn't make up for what he did in the past. Figured that becoming a Yoshi wouldn't help him escape his past. This is how Blue must have felt, only Shadow had all the more reason to be hated.

Trying to find something to change the subject, he suddenly found himself breaking down into tears.

"(Hey! It's okay,)" the first owl tried to comfort the crestfallen dino. "(We'll find your brothers… We won't let Vaati and Ganon do anything to them…)" Shadow only sobbed more.

"(I-I appreciate… your help…)" Shadow sniffled. "(But if I told you who I am, would you still assist me?)"

The animals looked at each other for a moment before the owl decided to come clean.

"(Er… about that… _Shadow_ )" he began, at which Shadow himself tensed up with wide eyes. "(We… kind of knew who you were the moment you revealed that your brothers went missing…)" Shadow couldn't speak.

"(…)" the dino tried talking but couldn't.

"(Listen, we know of what you did in the past, but we-)" the owl tried speaking before Shadow made a break for it.

"(Hey! Wait!)" the bear cried out. Shadow thought that the cry was a roar of anger, but in reality, the bear was desperate as the other animals to try to just talk to him. Shadow didn't want any of it though, and despite the pleading that got louder and louder, he found himself on the run. He knew that it was a mistake to try and talk to them. He knew that they would bring up who he was. They just wanted to talk to him to catch him off guard, and then they would heckle him, maybe even harm him! It didn't matter. He deserved it. Wondering where to go next from here, he suddenly got an idea. It was a foolish one, but at this point, what other choice did he have.

Even if it would do nothing to change the animals' attitude towards him, he would go and confront the source of the endless Dodongo spawning, even if it would cost him his life. He didn't care if he would go out this way. He just wanted to prove his worth as a HERO. He would rather face death than be remembered as a villain…

Barging out of the forest, and driven by grief and anger now, the hero made his way back to his original hiding spot, only this time, he leapt on top of it for all of the Dodongos to see. He wasn't afraid anymore, and he wanted them to know it.

"(What the?!)" one of the Dodongos in line exclaimed as it stopped. Turning around, the other Dodongos also went into shock.

"(HE'S STILL ALIVE?!)" another questioned in disbelief.

"(Not for LONG he isn't!)" a third one raged as he prepared to fire.

Shadow saw this impulsive move, and prepared to eat the attack. As the fire came out, the Yoshi lunged forward and engulfed it all in a single gulp, though he accidentally gulped it all down this time. What happened next was a mix of hilarity and rampage…

"(U-U-Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh…)" Shadow groaned in pain as he leaned into a stunned position. "(My stomach… It BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!)" he screamed as he suddenly let out an entire tidal wave of searing flames towards his foes, none of whom suspected the magnificent counter.

A lot of the beasts' mouths were left wide open as a result of this display, a fatal error on their part. Literally half of the line found themselves receiving mortal heartburns, those in the back watching as their peers blew up like gaskets. Shadow continued breathing out the fire in his blind agony, almost crying at how much his stomach was searing. It seemed that while Yoshis could stomach a lot, some meals indeed had "special" effects, such as belching fire uncontrollably. It was a good thing that this discovery was made on the rocky parts of the mountain too. Otherwise, a forest fire may have started, something that he definitely didn't want to cause this time.

Eventually, the pain inside Shadow began to ebb away, and with that, the fire began to calm down until it receded into his mouth. He took a good look at what he had done and saw that more than half of the Dodongos that he previously saw were GONE. With one counterattack gone accidentally powerful, he caused THAT much damage to their ranks?!

"(WHOA!)" Shadow shouted. "(DID I SERIOUSLY JUST-)"

Suddenly, he burped out more flames, catching even more Dodongos by surprise and even sending some back into the portal that they were all coming from!

As he looked at the Dodongos, whose expressions ranged from fear to anger, he suddenly smirked.

"(Ha! HA!)" he triumphed. "(It looks like we can play FAIRLY!)"

Stunned in silence for a moment, one of the Dodongos eventually shot back.

"(So, what?! You won't be able to STOP us! We're endlessly being generated by the Dark Lords! You can't POSSIBLY hope to beat us!)"

"(Or can I?)" Shadow replied smugly, having remembered back to that time when Vaati was unable to be defeated. He remembered that he wasn't so invincible after all the last time, since the Dark Mirror was giving him power. There was something behind the portal above that was endlessly spawning Dodongos, and he had to stop it.

Without warning, the cheeky dino began rushing up the mountain and towards the portal where the Dodongos kept coming from, intent on rushing in to save Death Mountain, Kakariko Village and Red.

The Dodongos, surprised for a moment, began giving him chase, knowing full well what he was up to.

"(STOP HIM!)" one of the ones behind him shouted out to those in front that were just exiting.

Getting the message, the Dodongos ahead began charging their fire-breaths, unaware that Shadow had his own tricks up his sleeve.

Still possessing some of the fire from the earlier heartburn, Shadow made the most of it and let loose another wave of flames onto his attackers, overpowering them in a literally heated push-o-war.

With only a second to react, the beasts were all internally roasted within an instant, clearing the way for the Yoshified hero to jump into the portal, which was when he saw the source of the problem.

Before him in, a large, familiar slimy hand with three clawed fingers was producing Dodongos from its palm, using the powers of darkness to spawn them at a dangerously high rate. A field of nothing but darkness and pumping veins was present.

"(I have to stop it!)" Shadow said to himself.

"(Well, WE won't let you!)" he heard the Dodongos behind him as they too entered the portal.

"(This is the end of the line for you, SHADOW!)" one of them fumed.

"(You're not gonna destroy us TWICE!)" another demanded.

"(That's what YOU think!)" the shadow Yoshi fired back as he attacked with his mouth flamethrower yet again. However, the Dodongos were prepared this time.

Closing their mouths and stomping the ground, they suddenly rushed the dino. He didn't see it coming, and got trampled, sustaining some bruises.

"(We're not DUMB, you know,)" one of them jeered. Shadow, being his snarky self however, just got up and replied with:

"(Are you REALLY? You JUST led me here to the source of your generation! You call THAT 'not dumb?')"

"(GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! WE'LL END YOU!)" one of the stampeding beasts raged as they all went for him again. Shadow was able to jump over most of them, but he tripped as he landed and got pummeled by more of them. With him down again, they took the opportunity to roast him as he did them, doing critical damage to the poor hero.

"(FEELING THE HEAT _NOW_ , YOU STUPID TRAITOR?!)" one of them mocked.

"(Urrrrgh…)" Shadow responded.

"(HA! HA! HA!)" another laughed evilly. "(LOOKS LIKE THIS SHADOW'S ABOUT TO STEP INTO THE LIGHT!)"

As they all prepared one final giant flame, Shadow, still lying down, decided that it couldn't end here. He had to win this encounter, for his brothers and for the sake of the world. He couldn't let this sacrifice kill him this time. As he thought of those who needed him, he suddenly felt a rush of energy…

It was like everyone he knew was cheering him on from far away, no matter where they were… It was like they all could sense his crisis, and were giving him the energy to continue. He was feeling life return to him despite being injured. He couldn't fail… Not now… Not EVER.

Jumping up high into the air, he flipped in place before crashing down with a literally stunning ground pound, throwing all of the creatures off balance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of them still aiming at him. Turning around, he attempted to eat the flame that was about to come, only to realize that he went in for the meal a little too early…

Instead, his tongue wrapped around the beast itself. Panicking, he tried unwrapping it, only to find himself drawing the creature in closer before suddenly swallowing the entire thing…

He gulped it all down, the monster perishing the moment it was in his stomach. Suddenly, Shadow heard a popping sound from behind him. He turned around and saw a black-spotted egg behind him.

"(D-Did I just… Never mind…)" he shook his head. Reveling in how awkward that was would only cost him, and besides, maybe this could help him… A question rose up in his mind.

What would happen if an egg made it into one of their mouths instead of fire?

Curious, he looked around, waiting for one of them to open fire. One of them opened its mouth, and before it could close, Shadow chucked the projectile straight into it. What happened next amazed him.

As soon as the Dodongo swallowed the projectile, it exploded, but not like how those before it did. Unlike the last few occurrences, the explosion was oddly rainbow-colored, and the explosion itself created multiple explosions around it. It was like a miniature display of fireworks! That wasn't even the best part apparently.

The two surrounding Dodongos suddenly exploded alongside the first one. Looking closely, Shadow saw that it was because they too were caught in the fireworks that the egg generated.

"(WHAT?!)" everyone including Shadow shouted.

"(HOW DID HE DO THAT?!)" one of them fearfully questioned.

"(THOSE EXPLOSIONS DIDN'T EVEN OCCUR ON THE INSIDE, AND THOSE TWO _STILL_ EXPLODED!)"

Shadow was honestly having the same questions as his opponents right now. He never saw Yoshi eggs explode so… vibrantly before. How was this so? He sighed as he realized that an answer would have to wait, for now was the time to stop the Dodongos and their generator.

Seeing now that he could eat them, Shadow began to formulate a plan. He would take down the fire breathing ones with fire and eggs, and he would eat the ones who would dare charge at him. With a strategy set in mind, he resumed taking the battle to the beasts.

He ate a couple of nearby Dodongos that decided to ram him, getting a couple of eggs in the process. Hearing one charge a fire blast behind him, he swiftly turned around and hurled the egg into its mouth, causing it and four others to explode. He turned around and saw another headed for him. Jumping and stretching his tongue out at the same time, he swallowed it, making sure to at least always have one egg in stock. He saw three more charge at him at that point, which made him realize that he couldn't keep eating them. At the rate he was, they would overpower him in his moments of weakness. It was then that another thought came to mind. If the eggs were already causing the Dodongos surrounding the explosion to explode, then why wait for them to open their mouths? Deciding to test his theory out, he bowled one over to one right in front of him.

It worked. The target and six others surrounding it were all obliterated in a second's notice. Shadow couldn't believe this. How powerful were these eggs?! How powerful were YOSHIS?! Dare he say it, they have even had a chance against Ganon and Vaati without the strength of the Four Sword! But he couldn't be sure… It was a sacred item, one that was designed specifically to combat them… Nothing else would work… Although that opinion to was about to be tested following what would happen next…

As Shadow continued fighting off the horde of Dodongos, he noticed more coming from the hand. Taking an egg, he threw it towards where they were intended to land. He had unfortunately missed the Dodongos themselves, but the egg did manage to strike the hand next to them.

As this happened, the hand writhed around in pain before it shrunk a little. Shadow caught notice of this.

"(The egg… shrunk the generator?!)" he questioned in surprise. Was that really the answer? Could his eggs actually diminish the portal? Or… was Vaati tricking him again, giving him false hope? Whatever the case, he had to try. With so few options, the answer was clear. It was time to get to the hand and shrink it down to nothing, so that no more Dodongos could spawn!

Eating a few more surrounding Dodongos, he began rushing towards the portal, using his eggs more sparingly when he had to take out a few in his way. The Dodongos noticed that he was advancing even further than before, and, desperate now, attempted to form a line of blockade.

Shadow did not slow down in the slightest however, and continued running with all due speed, undeterred. Taking a couple of eggs, he threw them towards the middle where the hand was being blocked the most, and wiped out twelve of them, enough to secure some room to pass on by. The Dodongos attempted to close the gap with some fire, but the hero merely swallowed it and breathed out another wave, hitting the portal hand as well, causing it to shrink even more. Delighted, Shadow threw three more eggs at the portal before turning around and eating some more Dodongos.

"(How REVOLTING!)" one of them snarled. "(We were doing so WELL in our invasion, and then that traitor eats us like we're STEAK or something!)"

"(Oh, well I'm sorry…)" Shadow began. "(Oh, wait. Not REALLY. You heathens DESERVE this, you know? I can't believe I was just as heartless as YOU guys! But I digress… It's time for YOU to take your final bows, losers!)" he laughed. Eating some more, he threw them towards the portal, damaging it further and further until it was but the size of a dime. It was basically over.

"(YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU…)" one of the remaining Dodongos hissed. "(YOU TERRIBLE BACKSTABBING REPTILE!)"

"(Oof…)" Shadow exclaimed. "(That's a little HARSH, what you said there, not gonna lie… I… I'm honestly quite OFFENDED by that!)"

"(You won't WIN!)" the Dodongo grimaced. "(Even though you ruined our invasion of Kakariko, we WILL prevail… Even if you and that miserable Red cause the extinction of Dodongos alone, Ganon and Vaati… They WILL turn Yoshi's Island into a land of darkness… The creatures you are right now will be working as their SLAVES… AND YOU WITH THEM! WE-)"

The beast was suddenly cut off when it saw itself being consumed by the dark-colored Yoshi, who then turned it into an egg and threw it towards the hand, causing it to disappear in a puff of black smoke, no trace of it left behind. All the other Dodongos then raged and attempted to rush the dino, but all Shadow needed to do to end this conflict was simply jump over, eat one, and while the others were corralled together, launch their buddy into the rest of them, ending their threat.

Shadow looked around the dimension of darkness for a moment to make sure that there were no more before slumping down. He was tired, injured even, but relieved… He actually held off the threat of Dodongos AND stopped them from consistently spawning. That in itself was quite the accomplishment. To think that he had nothing but eating and breathing fire along with explosive eggs by his side. He was beginning to take a shine to becoming a Yoshi, he had to admit.

Getting up, he left the darkness before it could close on him or something like that. He knew that lingering in there for too long was not an option. He decided to head back into the forest (a little begrudgingly) to check on how the animals were doing, hoping that they were still all right.

Meanwhile, deeper into the darkness, a loud roar could be heard.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" it cried out in apparent agony. "HOW COULD THAT INSOLENT LITTLE LIZARD HAVE SINGLEHANDEDLY DEFEATED MY DODONGO CREATIONS LIKE THAT?!" As the villain raged, a single red eye could be seen in the cloudy dark mist.

"HMM… It seems that even without the power of that blasted sword, he has begun to discover the power from within him… The others mustn't find out… If they know that Yoshis can drive off the darkness with this so-called 'happiness' and positive energy, then we very well may be doomed again… I must inform Ganon and the others, so that we can finish them off quickly! This is already going against us!"

As the figure thought over this, it withdrew into the darkness, becoming invisible again as it swam through the clouds…

Back with Shadow, he had just exited the portal where the Dodongos were coming from, and was back at Death Mountain. Suddenly, he felt a rumble shake the entire area. He fell over as he felt the terrain shift from underneath him. It went on for about a minute or so before it finally stopped. Turning his head around, he saw that it happened for a reason.

First off, the portal he had just come out of was no longer there, gone as he would have guessed it was going to be. Second of all, the portal going into Kakariko Village was also no more. While he was a little upset over that fact since he no longer had a convenient way to check on Red, he was relieved that it meant that no more Dodongos could invade the place. He would just have to hope that Red could deal with the rest…

And speaking of Dodongos, they had also been erased from the picture, the area looking far more peaceful without their threat now.

Finally, he noticed that with the absence of warp-holes, the mountain had returned to its normal state. The mountain was no longer a mismatched labyrinth of portals.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he suddenly remembered that he had to check on the forest animals. But…

Would they want to see him, even after all he did? He could still see the possible situation unfold. The accusations… The lack of trust…

With a sigh, he turned around to head back there, only to see practically the entire forest family standing before him.

With a worried look, he stammered on some words.

"(L-Look. Guys… I'm very so-)"

"(Shadow?)" the owl spoke. "(Forget about that. We have come to say… thank you…)"

 **Aww… Looks like the animals know that our fifth hero has changed for the better! Anyways, it would seem as if Shadow has found AND destroyed the source of the invading Dodongos that were terrorizing Kakariko village! That should make things easier for Red. Hopefully, he can hold out just a bit longer. At the very least, Shadow has just fired the first direct shot on Vaati and Ganon's plans, so there's a morale booster, yeah? But they can't be the only two behind the wheel… The next chapter will cover a third (very familiar) party of villainy before returning to Green again, though since it will be an intermission, it's likely to be short (but hopefully interesting all the same). Until then, Pikmin-Volt out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Villain Intermission

Chapter 7: Villain Intermission

 **Hello, guys! Pikmin-Volt back here with chapter 7, this one containing the info of who else is pulling the strings of this operation. What are they up to, and how might this get in the heroes' way? Let's find out! (Nintendo owns all characters and elements it possesses. I just own the story and the OC's). Enjoy this bit of insight!**

In the far corners of Yoshi's Island (again), a castle sat in the shadows, hidden by a few nearby mountains. The exterior of the castle had a few large pipes sticking out of it, coughing up heaps of smoke, almost like there was a factory inside of it. The moat surrounding it had quite a drop that lead to some murky water. Past the bridge and above the door, a giant medallion with a sinister face was present. Said face looked like it belonged to that of a dragon, what with its glaring eyes, fiery mohawk and sharp teeth. There was, as Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom would say, no doubt about it: This was Bowser's Castle. And the residents seemed to be constructing something inside of it. But what?

Inside, past the corridors filled with guards that consisted of Hammer Bros., masked Shy Guys, and of course, Goombas, through all of the red carpeting and medieval decorations, there were rooms that looked a little more industrial and modern.

Indeed, these rooms had tiled flooring and walls along with walls made of glass. There were warning and hazard signs littered everywhere, and all throughout the place, one could see assortments of test tubes. Of course, there were the typical conveyor belts as well, moving some metal boxes with tubes along. But what was inside those tubes? Clearly, Bowser had allied with Ganon again. But just what was he contributing with this time?

On some of the desks, some blueprints were laid out. These plans, at a closer glance, looked like they depicted the visage of a creature… It sort of looked like a frog… but something was different.

The amphibian had various markings all over it, one of them being a star on its forehead. The other eye-catching prospect about it was that it looked like it had wings. So, they weren't producing an object. They were mass producing this strange frog.

The doors to one of the rooms opened as two figures stepped in, one significantly larger than the other.

"So, how are they coming along?" the larger figure asked. He looked like an odd cross between a turtle and a dragon. His face was that same menacing one seen on the front of the castle. He had the same mohawk, and had horns like a dragon as well. His hands and feet all had claws, sharper than the average turtle. His green shell even had spikes all over. His eyes were a crimson red. This was Bowser all right.

"Being mass-produced by the fifties!" the smaller figure informed him. This one was wearing a blue wizardly robe, hat included. He wore a pair of circular glasses and red shoes, and just like Bowser, had claws. He wielded a wand with a red orb at the top. This was Kamek.

Suddenly, Bowser roared in rage.

"FIFTIES?! THAT'S NOT ENOUGH! MAKE IT HUNDREDS! NO! MAKE IT DOUBLE OF WHAT I JUST SAID!"

"S-Sire… I understand that y-you want to conquer the world ASAP, and to be real, I do too. But we c-can't rush-"

"YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!" Bowser glared at him intensely. Kamek, true to form, lost all sense of reasoning at that point. He sighed. Ever since he was an infant, Bowser always wanted it done quickly, or those around him would suffer. It never changed…

"N-Not at all sir…" Kamek shook his head. "I will inform the staff right away."

It was always a cycle of shouting orders with these two. Bowser would give Kamek orders. Kamek would in turn bark them at the other minions. When something went wrong, Kamek would be forced to report back to Bowser, and it would start from phase one again. At least Bowser Jr., Bowser's youngest son, wasn't in need of being taken care of at this point. That little… He certainly had a penchant for riling up the wizard and caretaker. Like his father before him, he had a "talent" for exhausting his patience within seconds… Thankfully, he was off supervising the upper levels right now.

As Kamek approached the door, he found himself suddenly being slammed by it and into the wall without warning.

"SIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!" the official screamed. It was a smaller turtle that looked more like a turtle than a cross between that and a dragon. Besides the boots it was wearing, it looked essentially like a cartoon version of one. It was a Koopa Troopa.

"WHAT?!" Bowser roared in annoyance.

"T-T-The Dodongo invasion… It's been… STOPPED!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Bowser gaped in shock, confirming his affiliations with the Dark Lord Ganon.

"A-A Black Yoshi… He climbed Death Mountain, and… and closed the gate!" the Troopa stammered.

Bowser was silent for a few seconds before banging his fist on the desk.

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! THE HEROES ARE UP FROM THEIR NAP, AND SHADOW, THAT TRAITOROUS LINK, HAS ALREADY TRASHED THE DISTRACTION INVASION!" he mused angrily.

"S-Sir, I know this is bad, but-" the Koopa began before Bowser suddenly barked out an order.

"Enough! Tell the others to start increasing the production of those Demon Frogs, or you can see a pay deduction in the near future! And tell Ganon to focus all monsters on Green! We picked up word that he's about to go into the forest at night! We have to finish them quick before they do it to us! We can't let our little friend's arrival be for nothing. Those pitiful dinos WILL be our slaves!"

"Y-Y-Yes sir!" the Koopa Troopa nodded as he ran off to spread the news. Bowser shook his head as the door closed, which revealed a flattened Kamek on the other side.

"That's supposed to be YOUR job by the way, telling the minions what to do!" Bowser complained. "I'm not paying you to snooze around on a door!"

"Um, sir, you don't pay me at al-" Kamek began when Bowser shot him another glare. The Koopa King left the room just as the wizard peeled off the door and regained his three-dimensional shape on the ground.

"I'm gettin' too old for this…" Kamek groaned.

 **So, they're mass-producing the Demon Frog from Kirby: Right Back at Ya?! That's bad… And who is that little friend that Bowser spoke of for a moment there? And how did they even get the means to mass produce those guys anyways? I thought all of the monsters of the NME corporation were destroyed! Unless… Well, I hope you enjoyed this short intermission, as well as the fact that in a rare move, I managed to upload two chapters in one day. Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you look forward to the continuation of Green's story next time in The Greater Hunt for Happiness! Pikmin-Volt out!**


	8. Chapter 8: A Green Journey

Chapter 8: A Green Journey

 ***Sigh.* Yeah… I know… Before you say it, I will… It's been more than a while. I really do apologize if you thought I was never coming back to this story. To be fair, I thought the same thing. But I'm here now thankfully, so the story is NOT forgotten. Anyways… This time, we go back to the beginning of the perspective cycle in this story to look at Green's side some more. Last time, he was just getting started on reuniting with the others. He'll have to traverse a dense forest this time, which could get dangerous, seeing how nightfall's approaching. Will he be able to hold his own in battle should the situation arise? (Nintendo owns all elements and characters it possesses. I just own the story and OC's.) Enjoy!**

Mountains, mountains, and even more mountains. It was nothing but going up and downhill for the last hour or so. Green ran relentlessly through the path that he was told to go on, intent on finding his brothers as soon as possible. Strangely to him, he didn't feel that tired yet, despite not taking a break between now and when the Yoshis saw him off. Guess he had lots of energy like this.

"Not bad…" he thought to himself. "I like how much stamina I have now! And the wind in my face feels GREAT!" He would have jumped up for joy at how alive he felt right now, but he knew he had to focus. His brothers were counting on him! Well, that may have been true, but Red and Blue might have been doing more than holding their own. Unlike himself, Shadow and Vio, those two must have practically adapted to their transformations by now. Even Red, who was formerly afraid to be alone, must have had his morale boosted by being a Yoshi. But his objective stayed the same. He had to find the others. And what about Chris and Kirby? They were split up from them too! Hopefully they could survive long enough as well…

As Green reached the top of another hill, he found a sight that was for sore eyes.

In the distance before him, he saw a bunch of trees, crowded together. It was the forest that the Yoshis were talking about.

"YES!" Green cheered. He was finally approaching it!

Resuming his run, the hero bolted downhill, minding the time of day as he was rushing towards the forest. The sun was starting to set, and as per Ken's warning, adventuring would start to get dangerous as a result. With this in mind, he ran ever faster until he found himself back on level terrain. As he kept running, he saw some other Yoshis headed his way.

As they approached each other, the other Yoshis seemed to recognize who was nearing them.

"(Hey! Green! Is that you?!)" one spoke.

"(Yeah!)" Green replied. "(W-Wait. How do you know it's me?)"

"(We Yoshis are able to tell the difference between one another, much like you and other humans,)" another Yoshi explained.

"(Hmm… Makes sense…)" Green thought aloud. "(Say, am I headed towards the forest right now?)" he asked.

"(Yes you are!)" a third Yoshi nodded happily. "(That's the other reason we knew you're Green. While our friends were tiding to your wounds, they told us to meet you at the forest entrance. Have no fear! We're here to help!)"

While Green WAS happy that he was being offered help, he thought back to what his mind told him earlier. Did he REALLY want help at a time like THIS? By hero's luck, they'd STILL be in the forest long after night fell. If something happened to even ONE of the Yoshis that offered to be his escort, he'd be plagued by guilt for the rest of his life. This wasn't about pride and selfishness anymore. He legitimately cared for the lives of those who helped bring him back on his feet. And they were miles away from any kind of known help this time. Green saw no other way but to go it alone. Besides, didn't the other Yoshis say that they needed to evacuate to that other world they were talking about? He was sure that lingering around in this world would only worry the others more…

"(That's… really nice of you…)" Green said as he shuffled around uneasily. "(B-But I think I can do this myself.)"

"(WHAT?!)" the first Yoshi exclaimed in shock. "(Green?! You NEED an escort through these parts! It's DANGEROUS to go alone!)"

"(I know. I know,)" Green tried to reason. "(I just…)" he drooped down in sorrow.

"(You okay?)" the second Yoshi asked.

"(No…)" Green sighed. "(Or at least I wouldn't be if something happened to one of YOU guys… I know that you were sent down here to give me an escort through the forest, but if something bad happens to one of you, I'll be very scarred, and so will my brothers…)"

"(Green, you don't need to worry about us,)" the third Yoshi assured him. "(It's our JOB to help you reunite with your brothers…)"

"(And I understand that,)" Green acknowledged. "(But please understand ME when I say that during times like this, being around me or my brothers signs you up for nothing but life-threatening trouble…)"

"(We KNOW that,)" the second Yoshi told him. "(We've had our fair share of crises too.)"

"(As much as you don't want to hear this… again… I can do this ALONE… I'VE got experience too. I'm NOT letting anything bad happen to you…)"

"(Green…)" the third Yoshi exclaimed.

"(Please…)" Green begged. "(Red and Blue might be worried about me right now, but they are DEFINITELY worried about you too. You're their favorite creatures ever, which is why they decided to become two of you. They'd feel sick to the heart if anything happened to even ONE of you. Please?... Just let me go it alone so that there's less people to lose…)"

Looking at each other for a moment, the Yoshis nodded to each other and sighed in defeat.

"(You realize that WE feel the same way about you and your brothers, right? If even one of YOU is lost in battle somewhere, WE'LL feel just as guilty,)" the first Yoshi said.

"(Are you absolutely SURE you want to do this?)" the second one asked him warily.

"(I am CERTAIN,)" Green replied. "(I can DO this.)"

"(Well… good luck,)" the third Yoshi said as he embraced him in a hug. "(Sorry… Hugging is what we Yoshis do for comfort and happiness in general.)"

"(Oh, no!)" Green shook his head. "(That actually makes me feel all the more brave! Good luck getting to your other world that you've been talking about.)"

"(Thank you,)" the second Yoshi spoke. "(Be careful out there…)"

"(Don't worry!)" Green assured them. "(I'll make it through, or my name isn't Green!)"

And with that, they took off in their own separate directions, Green continuing to head towards the forest. In just a few minutes, he was there. There wasn't so much time to spare either. The sun was almost touching the horizon from his point of view.

Without a second thought, he entered the woods, determined to find his brothers wherever they were. He wasn't exactly sure where to go, but he wouldn't give up, even if night struck.

Trying a pathway on the left at first, he began running through the forest, hoping that it would carry him out of there by nightfall.

As he barreled through the trees and bushes, he saw a few brown and round creatures that had furrowed eyebrows and a couple of fangs.

"Goombas…" he thought. He and his brothers hadn't seen any of those guys a lot, given that they were from Hyrule, but thanks to Vio of course, they had a few tabs on them…

Of course, Green knew that in numbers, they could be quite a handful, and while he had mastered running as a Yoshi, that was about it. A fight would only lead to more bruises for him. Seemed like he'd have to do it the stealthy way…

He began trying to tiptoe away from the crowd of munchkin adversaries, hoping to slip by undetected. Slowly but surely, he was making his way around the group without drawing any of their attention. He was just about to take off running again, when he heard something snap from underneath him.

Cringing and looking down, he saw that it was an inconveniently placed twig.

"(Oh, great…)" he muttered as he turned to the crowd of Goombas that had now recognized his presence.

"OI! Would you look at who it is!" one jeered.

"It's a YOSHI!" another sneered.

"You've got a lot of NERVE coming to these parts at THIS time of day!" a third one seethed.

"You lot have trounced us by your feet COUNTLESS times before…" a fourth one mused. "But we outnumber you THIS time!"

As Green found himself backing away, he took off into a dashing run.

"Oh, no you don't!" a Goomba shouted as they all charged for the green dino.

As Green continued to bolt away from them, he saw that his speed was pushing him further and further from the little minions. Thank goodness for his new speed, or he may have been a bouncy castle by now. As he weaved left and right through the turns, he found himself still gaining more ground on the Goomba legion. Sighing in relief, he didn't see that there was a bunch of trees right in front of him…

With a slam, he hit the barrier of forestry, bouncing back and onto the ground. Stumbling up, he turned to the side, where he saw the Goombas closing in on him. The trees were too close to each other to slip through. He was cornered…

"Ah… NOW we've got you…" a Goomba threatened.

"Get ready for more pain than you've EVER experienced!" another cried in vengeance.

As Green found himself pressed against the trees, his tongue suddenly flew out of his mouth on instinct, grabbing a Goomba before reeling it back in.

"WHY, YOU!" a Goomba screamed in anger as he lunged for the green hero.

As Green pulled up a protective stance, he found his tongue reach out again, eating the second enemy as well. As Green opened his eyes, he saw that he was still okay, though the remaining foes wanted to pound him into the ground. Realizing what he had just done, Green instead got into a fighting stance, ready for what was next. Maybe he was better at being a Yoshi than he thought…

As a wave of them lunged at him, he found himself spinning around, performing a tail whip to counter the enemies' attack. A success, it blew them back into more of their kind, causing a domino effect to occur in the little army.

"Hey," Green mused. "This isn't half bad! I could get used to this!"

Angered even more now, the Goombas continued charging at him, some preparing to jump up and head-bonk the Yoshi. Green saw this, and used his tongue to take one of them before swallowing him whole and turning him into an egg. Thinking quickly, he tossed the projectile as if it were his lost boomerang, scoring a hit on several more Goombas. In a groove now, Green then leapt up into the air before flipping and crashing down on some other Goombas, crushing some and stunning a few nearby. Seeing this, Green performed a sweeping roundhouse kick on them, literally wiping the floor with them. He was on a roll!

Just then, however, he felt a pounding on his head. One of the Goombas had actually managed to hammer him in the noggin, something which put him in a little bit of a daze. Quickly snapping out of it, he charged at the rest of the Goombas with a little head-bonk of his own.

"You wanna play dirty, you've GOT it!" Green said as he came rushing in. "Let's see how YOU like your heads smashed in! Oh, WAIT! The feeling should be FAMILIAR already!"

The lot of the small army was smacked into his face head on, Green travelling so fast that he was able to catch one after the other on his head as he kept pushing forward. As they saw this happen, they began to run off in fear, only to get caught by the lengthy attack. Before they knew it, Green had them all shoved into one of the trees, flattening them all into pancakes. Of course, Green himself ended up ramming into the tree too, further dazing him. It took a minute or so for him to get back onto his feet. On the bright side, there weren't any more Goombas though! The hero had his first battle as a Yoshi under his belt! He did it!

"Even if it WAS just a few Goombas…" he mused. Looking at the trees, he figured that he had taken the wrong path. This in mind, he made his way back to the fork at the beginning of the forest, hoping that he still had some time left before things were to become chaotic. As he was approaching the entrance however, he saw a few familiar enemies from where he was from… Guess night was approaching…

 **Phew… Well, there it is… Proof that I haven't forgotten about this story. And I know this chapter isn't a whole lot either. As always, I thought this was a good place to leave off of, even if it's rather short. The next few might be short as well, given how they are based either on fight scenes that have already started or will start, running scenes in Vio's case, or a celebration in Shadow's case. Again, I apologize dearly for not following through on this in a timely manner. Hopefully next time, I can do such…**


	9. News: Hiatus

So, it's come to my attention that the Greater Hunt for Happiness isn't getting as much attention as it deserves... I know... I need to be on it, but to do that, I need to not be so burned out... Simply put, I have some bad news and good news.

Bad news: I'm gonna leave this story alone for a while... I can't possibly hope to write it while I have so many other small ideas that I want to get out, or I'm gonna run myself into the ground. I gotta take it easy.

Good news: I am NOT leaving the story forever. Perhaps in a few months, I'll be refreshed again, and I'll be able to continue writing this thing with a smile. I just need some time to breathe. That's all.

I hope you understand, and I'm sorry for those that I've kept waiting. Again, I won't abandon this story. I've thought of the plot too much to just call it quits completely now. But for now, I need to take it easy...

(Will delete this info when an actual new chapter comes.)


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